Pahkitew Inverted
by gorrthebisexualboy
Summary: (Hiatus has concluded) Join the campers of Total Drama: Pahkitew Island as you've never seen them before. As a few examples, Leonard is an actual wizard, Max puts Alejandro and Heather to shame, and Scarlett's a ditz who's IQ is the same number as her shoe size. Join Dave, Sky, Ella, Topher and the others as they defend themselves from Max, and something even more sinister.
1. So, Uh, Is This My Team? Part 1

**Here is a list of the contestants with their new labels, along with their old labels for referencing purposes.**

 **Please do yourself a favor and rewatch and episode and remind yourself of the voices these characters have before reading. i hope that'll make the story more enjoyable. Especially as the story gradually gets darker.**

 **Beardo- The Dancing Machine (The Human Soundboard)**

 **Leonard- The Wizard (The LARPer)**

 **Amy- The Leftbrained Twin (The Evil Twin)**

 **Rodney- The Chick Magnet (The Country Boy)**

 **Sammy/Samey- The Rightbrained Twin (The Good Twin)**

 **Ella- The Hood Chick (The Fairytale Princess)**

 **Topher- The Better Chris (The Chris Wannabe)**

 **Dave- The Unabashed Weirdo (The Normal Guy)**

 **Scarlett- The Loud Moron (The Quiet Genius)**

 **Max- The Competent Villain (The Incompetent Villain)**

 **Jasmine- The Suburban Neighborhood Girl (The Australian Outback Girl)**

 **Sky- The MMA Fighter (The Gymnast)**

 **Shawn- The Blissful Ignorant (The Conspiracy Nut)**

"Welcome, Total Drama fans!" announced Chris, with a backdrop of the wilderness "Get some clean undies, because things are about to get wild!"

"As you may recall, during our whole Heroes vs. Villains debacle, someone" Chris awkwardly cleared his throat "And I prefer to remain nameless, accidently destroyed our whole island. The only thing we managed to save was the Outhouse Confessional, and the nasty butt smells that live inside, courtesy of Owen. No cabins. No hotels. No oddly-sized shopping bags. Just the Playa de Losers for when the contestants get eliminated"

"It's the roughest roughing-it that's ever been roughed on Total Drama; so buckle up for Total Drama; Pahkitew Island"

Several thousand feet off the ground, a motorized blimp materialized high above the Pahkitew Island shores. On board are fourteen teenagers ranging from from sixteen to seventeen years old.

Ella, a notorious stoner from the city of Venice Beach, swayed absentmindedly from side to side in syncopation to the rhythmic movements of the airship. The girl's hair went down to the bottom of her ribcage, and it was shaved completely on her left side. Her black tank top was speckled with green, red, and yellow polka dots of varying sizes. The largest was about the size of a closed fist and the smallest was the size of a pinkie nail.

Sky briefly looked at Ella before pulling some gum out of her pocket. Her magenta hoodie gave her more of a balance between masculine and feminine. Her dark gray leggings stopped about mid-calf.

She looked to her other side and quickly figured that the guy next to her wasn't much of a threat to her physically. She pulled out one piece of gum and popped it into her mouth and offered it to him.

Max was more of a unique character on board the plane. His hair was cut in a wide sort of mohawk. The top was longer and scruffier than the sides, which were cut short. He was short, but extremely muscular. Instead of wearing 'normal clothes', he wore a green, zip-up sweater with matching khakis. His hair was raven-black.

"Thank you, kind citizen" acknowledged Max as he carefully inserted the gum into his mouth. His face slowly relaxed "Root beer, my favorite flavor"

An outburst of laughter came from one of the other benches on the airship.

"So, then" said Dave, with a dramatic flair "I jumped in front of the T-Mobile and started rapping, dancing, flipping the hair, the whole sha-bang. Bam! That's how I became a street performer"

Dave almost seemed like he wanted to blend in, but his personality wouldn't allow it. He sported an entirely black outfit made of jeans, a plain, short-sleeved t-shirt and a beanie.

Leonard looked at him intently, as if tried to analyze Dave and to see if he was lying. When he came to a conclusion, he smiled "That's a very intriguing story, David. Perhaps you could introduce me to your dance crew sometime. I've been meaning to get a start in that sort of thing, y'know?"

Leonard had on some light-gray sweatpants, a turquoise button-up shirt, and a pink fedora, as if he had picked out the first things he saw in a thrift shop and didn't entirely know what human fashion was.

"Shit, man, no problem." said Dave, offering a hand for a fistbump. Leonard recoiled instead, thinking Dave intended to hit him.

"Yo, skinny boy, you got some street performers were you come from?" shouted Ella from across the room.

"'Course I do!" Dave shouted back "I got this song from some of them. Said his name was MAX, and for some reason he emphasized the fact that his name was in all caps. I wish my name was in all caps."

Beardo started busting out some moves as Dave started singing.

Beardo was something of an anomaly, even among the extraverted contestants of Pahkitew Island. He almost never spoke at all, and mostly communicated what he wanted to say through movement.

Beardo donned a plain, tight, white t-shirt that showed every microscopic triviality of his upper body. He also had on some black cargo shorts with bright blue stripes on them. Much like his name suggests, Beardo does indeed have a beard, but no hair on top of his head to accompany it.

"I wish I could dance like that" muttered Sammy under her breath

"It's almost impossible for anyone to dance like that. Even the odds of that guy being able to dance like that is several million to one. Factoring in all the hard work he's put himself through along with the raw talent he was born with; your dream will only be a dream" said Amy indifferently

"You're no fun" Sammy pouted

Amy and Sammy, being identical twins, looked almost exactly alike. Their jeans were identical in shape and color, but their upper bodies differed.

Sammy had on a white crop top and her hair was let down and a little messy, making her seem a little crazy, but in a good way. She kicked her feet back and forth, insinuating that she had some form of hyperactivity disorder.

Amy had on a fluffy, pink sweater and her hair was pulled back in a tight, librarian-style bun. She had glasses on her face and her nose was stuck in a National Geographic magazine.

Two more contestants hung out hear the cockpit of the mechanized blimp. The first was named Topher, one of the best impressionists that Canada has to offer. "I'm gonna build the best wall" he announced, in an far beyond commonplace impression of American President "I'm gonna build a twelve foot wall around the border. What do you mean El Chapo has a thirteen foot ladder?"

Topher had on a periwinkle button-up that was completely unbuttoned and some white jeans that had no hint of any stains anywhere. It was like Topher's jeans sensed how perfect their owner was and strived to be just as good. His hair was spiked up and his teeth sparkled and gleamed.

The girl next to him was laughing and snorting without a care in the world. Her dirty-blonde hair was streaked with purple and she had a heftier build, but she didn't care all that much. Her name was Kalie, but due to her insatiable sweet tooth, she gained the nickname Sugar, and it stuck with her wherever she went.

"Oh" said another girl sitting next to Sugar "I get it, it's because a thirteen foot ladder is taller than a twelve foot ladder. Very clever" said Scarlett, nodding to herself. She had on a tank top the color of a streetlight telling drivers to slow down and a pencil skirt that made it very hard for her to run.

The last two inhabitants of the plane looked at each other "I don't know if she's joking or not" admitted Rodney, referring to Scarlett's airheaded comment. Rodney, much like Beardo, knew that he was very physically attractive and had no problem showing off. He had on a tight, v-neck flannel that showed off more than half of his pectoral muscles. He also had on some three-quarter jeans that probably would've looked stupid on anyone else on the plane, but Rodney made it work.

"I think she was" said Shawn earnestly. Shawn had on a red polo shirt, and a backwards cap that had the word 'create' on it in a large, blue font.

Lightning flashed outside, and soon, thunder reverberated in the cabin. Scarlett stumbled into Rodney's lap. "Hold me" she commanded. Rodney, warily, did as she told him.

Ella handled the situation differently, by humming a reggae tune as loud as she could so that the thunder seemed less loud and intimidating.

"Oh, great. Thunder" grumbled Sammy "I'm astraphobic. I hate thunder!"

"Thunder is completely harmless. It's the lightning that kills you" comforted Amy

"Not helping!"

Chris came from the cabin and rubbed his eyes "I'm legally bound to tell you that there are two emergency exits and eight parachutes inside these two crates. Your challenge? Make it to Pahkitew Island alive. I'll be there in an hour or so to get you losers ready for part two. Buh-bye now"

Scarlett looked around dim wittedly and saw two, yellow boxes each about the size of a school desk. "I think he means those boxes"

"Well, yeah, of course he does" said Topher in an a near spot-on impersonation of Steve Harvey "It's not like there are other boxes in here"

Lightning flashed again, striking one of the propellers keeping the airship afloat. The cabin shuddered like a girl wearing a bikini in the middle of the Arctic Circle. Logically, everyone started to panic and run around the cabin. Everyone except Dave. He giggled like a kid in a candy shop and enjoyed every moment.

Rodney ripped off the lids of both the boxes and started tossing parachutes to everyone. Most of the girls, with Sky and Jasmine as exceptions, just stared and smiled at the well-built farm boy.

Max and Jasmine plowed off the plane first, with Beardo close behind. Sky punched out one of the emergency exits and lept off with a faint trace of a grin on her face, as if she had done exciting things like skydiving before.

Jasmine pulled her parachute first "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon" she muttered under her breath as she fumbled with the cord. Jasmine lived a fairly sheltered, almost boring life in the suburbs just outside of Alberta. She had never done anything like this before, and it was evident.

Finally, Jasmine managed to pull the cord correctly, and a parachute flared up from her backpack. The goliath girl clapped her hands together rapidly "There's some luck in me after all!"

However, there was no such luck for Beardo, as instead of a backpack containing a parachute, Beardo had grabbed a backpack that only enclosed a chicken, which immediately fluttered away. Beardo sighed. Just his luck.

Amy and Sammy held hands and jumped off the plane together. "I really hope that we both have parachutes." said Sammy quietly

"The odds of that happening, seeing that the really tall girl already has one, is exactly ten percent" said Amy flatly, showing no signs of fear or apprehension.

"Never tell me the odds!" yelled Sammy as she bounded from the exit that Sky punched open

"Whatever you say, Captain Solo" said Amy acerbically, following her sister down.

Sammy, in a panic, pulled her cord immediately. Luckily for her, the backpack Rodney gave her had a parachute in it. So did Amy's.

"Take that, the odds" jubilated Sammy, sounding less badass than she intended due to a voicecrack.

Amy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

Sugar opened her backpack next, resulting in pots and pans to fall out of it. A tiara fell into Sugar's opened hands "A tiara? The hell am I supposed to do with this?" She threw it away from her, accidentally hitting Dave in the face.

"Really, you had pots in your pack. Did you not notice the fact that it was way too heavy to be a parachute?" asked Dave

"I don't know how heavy parachutes are" objected Sugar.

"Luckily, the pack Rodney gave me was as light as a... " Dave pulled the cord, emitting feathers that started drifting all around him "...feather..."

Sugar and Dave looked at each other for a few seconds before laughing that the other's misfortune.

Topher managed to snag one of the actual parachutes and started singing Celebrate in a imitation of Kool and The Gang.

Leonard was not as lucky, as his bag was filled with tambourines. Leonard shrugged and willed the air near him to go under him to eventually cushion his fall.

Rodney, by sheer serendipity, had given himself a parachute. "Badda-bing, badda-boom" said Rodney, shooting an imaginary fingergun in the air.

Ella pulled her cord, and her backpack shot out a teddy bear with a miniature parachute attached to it. The Venice native threw her arms in the air with frustration and confusion "What the actual fuck?! How did that even fit in my backpack". To add injury to insult, one of Leonard's tambourines hit Ella in the face. "Oh, come the fuck on!"

Scarlett managed to get a parachute, while Shawn was stuck with a bunch of hot dogs. Shawn shrugged and seized one of the hot dogs out of the sky. Might as well go out deliciously.

As all the contestant reached the ground (some more painfully than others), they found a scene in which Chef was yelling at Chris about wasting fifteen percent of the budget on an automated airship that was gonna be destroyed before the ten minute mark.

"Wait, I saw that guy on the 's he doing here?" pointed out Topher

Chris gasped, taking great offense to Topher's comment "Firstly, 'that guy' is Chris McLean, the greatest television host in Canadian history. Secondly, that was a hologram

"What's a hologram?" Scarlett wondered aloud. No one answered her.

Max, who had been missing until now, stumbled into the clearing with a ragged sheet anchor dragging behind "What'd I miss?" he asked no one in particular before collapsing onto the ground with a groan.

"Honestly, almost nothing at all" said Chris "All those who had actual parachutes and not my early Christmas presents, please stand to my left. That would be; Scarlett, Topher, Rodney, Jasmine, Amy and Sammy." The aforementioned contestants did as they were told. Rodney unbuttoned one of the buttons on his flannel, because where he gives, it's normally very cold. He wasn't used to weather above eighty degrees Fahrenheit. Every girl on the team immediately started ogling over him, making Rodney uncomfortable.

"For those unfortunate fucks that did not get a parachute, please go to my right. That would be; Shawn, Leonard, Ella, Dave, Beardo, Sky, and Sugar."

Confessional

Sammy: "No offense to Amy or anything, but I auditioned for Total Drama to get away from her. She's such a buzzkill!"

Leonard: "I have to keep the fact that I'm a wizard a secret. If they find out, I'll get eliminated for sure!"

End Confessional

The Fortunate Fucks

"Because I spent our entire transportation and shelter budget on that airship that just got destroyed by that thunderstorm that oddly disappeared, your first challenge is to make sure that you can build your own shelter so I don't get sued. You can use whatever resources you find on the island and that large, overly-convenient junkpile over there. You have five hours before the other team gets a turn. Begin!"

"Are these our teammates?" asked Scarlett

"Yes. I thought that was in the subtext but I guess someone isn't smart enough to read between the lines." said Chris, half in amazement and half

"Okay, guys I have a good team name." declared Sammy to the people that received parachutes in their pack "Rodney's Angels"

Max raised his hand to protest, but Scarlett forcefully lowered it "Agreed"

"But.." started Max

"But nothing" said Amy "We're Rodney's Angels"

Max seemed unhappy with that choice, and oddly enough, so did Rodney. However, both of the men knew that it would be pointless to object. They wouldn't change anyone's minds.

"I suggest we build a secret hideout near the beach." recommended Max.

No one seemed to show any support for Max's idea. He frowned morosely and kicked a pebble close to his foot.

Rodney saw this and decided to back him up "A secret hideout seems doable. I'm in" Immediately, Jasmine, Amy and Scarlett voiced their opinions of approval.

"I really like this, actually" said Sammy "The only problem is having enough material to make a hideout big enough for all eight of us"

"I built a shed for my pet chicken at home. His name is Mr. Nuggets. This is just like that, but on a bigger scale." elucidated Rodney "It shouldn't be that hard"

Confessional

Jasmine: "Rodney has a way with words, and his leadership skills are like the volleyball coach at my school. But Rodney actually gets shit done. Eat my ass Coach Glover!"

Topher: "Rodney has a weird way with the ladies. And for some reason, Sammy is immune. Why does that matter?"

Max: "I'm sorry, but I just feel like I need to point out that Rodney has a pet chicken named Mr. Nuggets? Does the chicken know what the word nugget even means? That's like naming your child Mr. Corpse. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, that could be a good villain name"

End Confessional

"Jasmine, you're pretty strong think you can get that metal sheet? That'll make a pretty good roof" instructed Rodney

Jasmine gave the junkpile a quick once over. There was a dumpster behind the Barnes and Noble close to her house. It was nowhere near as big as the junkpile she was staring at, but, on the other hand, the junkpile smelled nowhere near as bad

"Any sort of adhesive around?" asked Max, as he followed Jasmine to the junkpile

"Use smaller words." ordered Scarlett as she tossed various things behind her; including a stuffed black bear and a green and yellow duffel bag that reminded everyone of Sprite.

Max gawked at Scarlett, like he was trying to determine if Scarlett was as simple minded as she made herself out to be. He took a deep breath to defuse his emotions before he lost his temper and got himself eliminated first. "Get some sticky shit" he said. Scarlett nodded eagerly and started throwing everything around like a monkey before finding some industrial tape.

Max's eyes expanded at the idiotic ginger's good luck.

"Good job so far, guys." called Rodney, taking the metal sheet from Jasmine and leaning it against a nearby oak tree, "We just need some walls. We can focus on all the furniture and decorations and stuff after the challenge"

"Let's go, bucko" encouraged Max as he, Scarlett and the twins started sorting through the massive junkpile. Well, Max and Amy sorted through the accumulation of junk. Scarlett and Sammy just threw things behind them without really looking.

Eventually, Amy and Max got all the supplies they needed, and they went to meet Rodney, Jasmine, and Topher.

All the details of the hideout being constructed are extremely tedious, and therefore will not be documented.

The final product was very impressive, especially because it was seven teenagers with very little building experience that created it. The metal sheet balanced on four thick, tall slabs of wood. In the corner, there was a black outline of a rectangle, where Rodney intended to saw out a window.

Each contestant had their own personal space that was about three hundred square feet, giving the shelter a grand total of twenty-one hundred square feet, about the size of a very low budget home.

The interior of the den was interesting, mostly because it was an amalgamation of seven different personalities thrown into an area the size of a classroom.

Amy's area was very simplistic, almost to the point of lifelessness. She, like all the other contestants, was provided with a bed. Her section of the wall was covered with pictures of famous scientists and intellectuals, like Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. She also had a whiteboard with each of the contestants names on it.

Sammy's was somehow already messy, despite only being in the shelter for fifteen minutes. Books and assorted clothing items littered the ground. On her wall was a poorly painted emu, courtesy of Scarlett.

Topher's section had all kinds of oddities, including a hand puppet of Donald Trump, and the Sprite duffel bag that was found in the junkpile. Under his bed was enough hair gel to last Topher ten weeks, although he didn't think he would actually make it that far.

Rodney's section had pictures of his family and Taylor Swift up on the wall. On his bed was a striped, stuffed alligator which he named Stripey. Max wasted no time in renaming it Sarcos. It was an odd name, Rodney thought, even when Max explained that 'sarco' meant flesh in Latin.

Jasmine's wall was very similar to Amy's, but instead of people that actually contribute to society, Jasmine's wall was covered with superheroes like Johnny Quick and Hyperion, and YouTubers like Markiplier and Thomas Sanders.

Scarlett's wall had a coconut that had a face drawn on it.

Finally, Max's wall resembled Jasmine's, but instead of superheroes or nerds, he had villains on his wall. To be specific, Darth Vader, Hannibal Lector, Lex Luthor, and Walter White, which sparked a huge debate with Topher, who called Lector too one-dimensional to be placed with Vader or White.

Rodney's Angels took some time to admire their handiwork before letting the other team, who had named themselves The Fugitives, have their fun with the junkpile.


	2. So, Uh, Is This My Team? Part 2

**There's a reason I didn't include Sugar's inverted label in the list in chapter one. Sugar's new label will be at the end of the chapter, along with my responses to reviews.**

The Fugitives had a very odd definition of teamwork. Compared to Rodney's Angels, The Fugitives had many bigger personalities. Dave suggested The Fugitives look around for natural landmarks that they could build off of. "That could take hours" objected Ella "Besides, there's no guarantee that there's anything like that here"

"I don't know, I think it could be a risk that could pay off" said Leonard. In truth, Leonard already knew that there was cave about half a kilometer that suited everyone's needs, because he was magic and could do shit like that. Deal with it.

"We'll take a vote" Sugar told everyone "Everyone in favor of Dave's plan, raise their hand" Sugar shot her hand in the air. Leonard tentatively raised his hand in the air. Beardo dabbed, which counted as raising his hand in the air. Dave and Sky put their hands as well, leaving Shawn and Ella outvoted.

"Sounds like a plan." said Leonard, solidifying their course of action, "I have a good feeling about heading north"

"I don't see why not" said Dave, following Leonard Leonard lead The Fugitives in a beeline for the cave that he detected earlier, swatting the mosquitoes and bees out of the way. After about ten minutes, the cavern that Leonard had found came into view, hidden by trees and bushes. Leonard looked at it for a moment, but decided that it would be weird if he pointed it out. People would start suspecting that there was something more to Leonard than meets the eye. Leonard sighed and trekked on, knowing that the fate of this challenge hinged on the infinitesimally small chance that some of his teammates somehow seeing the cavern.

"Hey, look at that punkass looking pothole!" yelled Ella, pointing to the cave that Leonard detected. Apparently, pothole was slang for cave in America.

"It's huge!" exclaimed Sugar.

"That's what she said" Dave whispered to Leonard. They both snickered. Ella looked at the two boys, trying to decide if Dave was legitimately funny or just had the same crude sense of humor most guys his age had.

Confessional

Leonard: "Did I give something away? Shit."

Dave: "Leonard is an interesting character for sure. I don't think there's anything that special about him, but I'd like to get to know him better.

Sky: "I wonder if Dave remembers the fact that Shawn and Ella opposed him. I'll have to point that out in case I screw up and we're on the chopping block"

Ella: "I take back what I said about Dave's plan. That cave is the shit!"

End Confessional

The cave was a little mossy and a little damp due to the freshwater river that flowed through it, but it was almost no problem. The Fugitives had no problem settling in. In fact, their shelter was complete even before the two-and-a-half hour mark, allowing the Fugitives to strategize.

"So, I believe we need to take this time to elect a team leader" suggested Dave "I nominate Leonard, because he's the one who found this dandy cave"

"I second that notion" concurred Ella.

Leonard look around at all five of his teammates faces. There would've been six, but Beardo was off in the corner performing the macarena for a family of raccoons. They all seemed so eager to follow, which made Leonard uncomfortable. "Maybe not, guys. I love helping people, but I don't do well in leadership positions"

"My second choice is Dave" said Sky 'Because he had the idea to seek out this cave"

"It's not like I'm filled to the brim with good ideas" Dave said, causing everyone to chuckle "Does anyone have any experience in leadership?"

"I mean I guess I have a few younger siblings" said Sky "I could lead" No one had anything against that plan, so Sky was made the unofficial leader of The Fugitives.

The contestants soon dispersed into the separate areas of the cavern, allowing Sky to drag the two strongest competitors on her team aside and make a plan for tonight. "What's cookin, good lookin?" asked Dave, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Sky rolled her eyes, unimpressed with Dave's rhyme. She doubted its originality.

"In case we lose, we need to make a plan for the elimination." Beardo, the other person Sky dragged aside, pointed at Shawn and then made an 'X' with his arms, indicating that he didn't want Shawn around. "What's up with Shawn?" Dave asked. Beardo shrugged.

"I feel like there's more to Leonard than meets the eye. He's a serious mental threat. If he gets to the merge, there's no way we'll be able to outsmart him" suggested Sky.

Dave had a personal connection with Leonard and wasn't looking to eliminate him so early on. "We don't need him gone so soon. He'll be a great asset; we'll try to get him off closer to the merge" Sky nodded slowly, realized that Dave had a very good point

"So, who do you think won't do very well for this team?" Sky asked the two guys Beardo again pointed at Shawn and made an 'X' with his arms. "What do you have against Shawn?" asked Sky. Beardo waved his right hand under his nose.

"So, you want Shawn out just because he smells like the Confessional?" asked Dave. Beardo nodded in confirmation.

Sky shrugged "The only disadvantage of finding this place so quickly was not being able to see who is a helper and who is a hinderance" she said Dave and Beardo nodded and looked outside.

In the back of the cave, Ella looked at the conversation that Sky was orchestrating. Ella didn't like the fact that Sky was already assuming they would lose, and that she was so focused of the million dollars that she already was forming plans to eliminate her own teammates.

Confessional

Sky:" I feel like maybe it was a little too ruthless to plan my teammates elimination ahead of time. I should've probably waited until we lost the challenge, if we even lose. But at least Dave and Beardo are gonna vote the way I want to."

Beardo: "I am voting for Sky before she becomes a totalitarianist."

Dave: "You think Sky's into me?" Dave pauses for a moment, considering the possibility "Nah, she can do so much better than me." Dave frowns for a split second before smiling again, although it seems forced.

End Confessional

Most of the contestants had joined Total Drama for secondary reasons, unrelated to the million dollars. In Ella's case, it was to break her nicotine addiction. She needed to make it to the merge in order to break the addiction. Because Dave, Beardo, and Sky never mentioned Ella's name, it was in her best interest to keep quiet, but the moment one of them brought up her name, she would try to convince Leonard, Sugar, and Shawn to vote for Sky. That would be a majority, which would result in Sky's elimination.

Ella allowed herself a small grin. Better to let Sky take everyone out so no one has any animosity towards herself.

At dinnertime, which was well after nightfall, Rodney's Angels and The Fugitives ate together while Chef and Chris evaluated the two teams shelters. At Rodney's Angel's Table "We have this in the bag" bragged Scarlett shamelessly.

"Not so loud!" warned Sammy "You'll jinx us!"

"There's no such thing as jinxing. Just irony" said Amy.

Sammy rolled her eyes and groaned. Then she started drumming her fingers on the table nervously. She didn't want to be the first sent home. Not only would she miss out of a million dollars, but Amy would never let Sammy her the end of it if she was voted out before the emotionless twin was.

"Why is there spaghetti without any marinara sauce" interjected Max "I have to eat pasta with this diabolical concoction named alfredo sauce."

"I never saw the appeal of eating liquified cheese with pasta" agreed Rodney. To no one's surprise, Scarlett immediately started gushing about how horrible alfredo sauce, much to Max's annoyance.

Confessional

Max: "Everyone on this team is blindly going to follow Rodney until Rodney will have to turn them against each other in order to save his own ass. I both feel disgust and pity"

End Confessional

Something about Max just seemed off to Topher. Normally, Topher was pretty good on reading people, but something about Max was completely unreadable. That scared Topher a little bit. If Max became a little more dangerous, Topher would try to get Max eliminated. With that thought, Chris and Chef reentered the kitchen.

"I have some unfortunate news" said Chris "I didn't want to tell you, but Chef said that we can't hide this stuff from you. You're all sixteen and seventeen, I guess. There was a domestic terrorist attack in our neighbor down south. Ella, you're from America, so if you want to step out, feel free"

Ella shook her head, "Lay it on us"

"There was a white supremacy rally in Charlottesville, Ohio." growled Chef "Which is bad enough on it's own. Then someone took it too far. There were counterprotesters from the University of Virginia. That guy drove into a crowd and he injured nineteen people and killed another. Two state trooper patrolling crashed their helicopter into a forest." Chef apparently had more to stay, but he slumped against the wall and slid down it. He started crying. Then the unspeakable happened.

Sugar said "Good."

Leonard and Jasmine were on their feet instantly. "What was that, white girl?" said Jasmine vociferously. Instead of backing down, like any sensible person, Sugar put her hands on her hips "You heard me."

"Keep in mind, Sugar, that you're on the same side as the Neo-Nazis." warned Chris.

"Nazis?" asked Sky "I've been called a kike enough times. Chris, did we lose the challenge?"

"As a matter of fact, you did. The rules were you had to build a shelter. You guys found one." Chris informed her "Meet me at the Dock of Shame. Only six of you are returning."

The Votes

Dave: "I vote for Sugar. She supports white nationalism. I'm Canadian-Indian. Need I say more?"

Leonard: "Sugar needs to get real gone. Now. And I don't even need a spell to make her go away." Leonard then proceeds to drop the pen everyone uses to mark their ballot down the toilet "Daw, shit!"

Sugar: "I vote for Leonard. That boy is something else" Sugar then sniffs the pen. "Ahhh, smells like home"

Sky: "Originally, I was going to vote for Shawn like Beardo wanted to. Then I realized Sugar was a fucking Nazi. Look, I'm sorry Sugar, but I'm Jewish. There ain't no anti-semitism in my house"

Beardo: "Sorry, Sky. I would've voted for Sugar, but if she stays, that's one target bigger than me"

Ella: "I'll vote for Sugar, just because she's a total bitch. Hey, kids, here's a little information for you. Nazis are bad and can eat my pussy"

Shawn: "I feel like I was barely involved today. I guess I'll vote for Leonard, just because I'm afraid he'll run this game if we leave him in too long"

Chris tabulated the votes as everyone looked at Sugar, who at least had the decency to look remorseful.

"The following Fugitives, awesome name, by the way, received no votes and are safe for the you're safe for the week, you can go to the firepit and have s'mores with the winner"

"Beardo." Beardo dabbed passionately in the moonlight and timestepped off to the fire pit.

"Ella". Ella looked at Dave worriedly for a moment, before folding her hands behind her back and following Beardo.

"Shawn." Shawn grinned and walked in the opposite direction that Ella and Beardo had went. Chris shrugged "I'll take care of him afterward"

"Dave" Dave jumped up and ran after Ella as fast as his skinny legs could take him. Sky looked a little miffed as that happened. "As for the rest of you, you guys have votes against you."

Sugar looked unconcerned, as if she had expected this. To the contrary, Sky and Leonard looked shocked. They were fairly certain they weren't in any danger, due to Sugar's behavior at dinner, but now they couldn't stop thinking about who voted against them

"Leonard, with one vote, you're safe" broadcasted Chris. Leonard sighed and walked away.

"Sugar, you're here because your way of thinking stopped being popular three centuries ago. Sky, you're here because you tried to make a secret alliance between Dave, Beardo, and yourself to get Shawn out"

Sugar looked at Sky in shock "You did what now?"

Sky glared at Chris "Are you even allowed to say that?"

"Yes, I am, but only because Sugar got five votes and you only got one" answered Chris in a sing-song voice.

Chef took great pleasure in dragging Sugar kicking and screaming onto a boat, which would bring her to the Playa de Losers. Unluckily for Sky, Shawn was still close enough to the campfire to hear what Chris had said. "Why me?" asked Shawn to himself. Then he thought he had come up with the answer. It was because he had opposed Dave earlier in the evening. Then Shawn assumed that Dave was the one spearheading the movement to get him eliminated, in opposition to the real reason, which was just because Beardo thought he smelled weird.

The teenagers erupted into applause when Shawn joined then, which meant that Sugar was gone, in the most shameful placement of fourteen people; fourteenth place.

 **Pieces: Thank you so much,** ** _amigo._** **Dave was by far my favorite character to write.**

 **Yeezy: Yes, I do plan on doing this with the other generations**

 **harry: Believe it or not, I did plan on making Brick a Communist, but now I have to change it, otherwise it'll look like I stole the idea from you.**

 **Sugar- The White Nationalist (The Pageant Queen)**


	3. Skyfall

In the aftermath of Sugar's elimination, no one really seemed that upset. No one had made a significant personal connection with the nationalist, and her revealing her true colors just made everyone mad.

Sky is still targeting Leonard, and tried for the six days between Sugar's elimination and the next competition to convince Beardo and Dave to vote for him as well, but neither young man was very eager to do so.

In addition, both Ella and Sky have each gotten closer to Dave on a personal level. Because this is a reality show taking place on an island riddled with cameras, we managed to get both conversations on tape. Enjoy.

Dave and Ella relaxed near the mouth of the river inside the cave. Dave had exchanged his black t-shirt for a white one and had replaced his beanie with a leather windbreaker. He looked like he came straight from _The Outsiders_.

Ella had on the some black jean shorts and a t-shirt that read "Look like Barbie; smoke like Marley", a reference lost on the other contestants.

"Do you actually smoke, dude?" asked Dave, bouncing a rubber ball against the wall of the cave.

"I don't wanna talk about it" said Ella, with a shyness that was very uncharacteristic. Dave realized that he had hit a sore point, but figured that he would try to get Ella to talk anyways.

"I have nothing against it" said Dave, raising his palms in the air. However, this caused the rubber ball to go rogue and hit Shawn in the head.

"Neither do I. Obviously, or I wouldn't have bought this shirt. But it's just been a part of my life I've been trying to get away from" said Ella cryptically, leaving Dave to try to piece together Ella's message.

"What's it like in America?" Dave asked.

"It's the most beautiful, terrible country on Earth." explained Ella "People can be whatever they want to be, and sometimes they make the wrong choice and become something horrible."

"I remember a quote that President Mandela said once. He said that "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.".

"You think Sugar can change?" asked Ella

"It's not an impossibility." answered Dave honestly.

They sat in silence for awhile, the only sounds being the stream flowing and Shawn bitching about his forehead

"I have an addiction problem" revealed Ella "That's why I wanted to come here so badly. A million bucks is great, but I know I'm probably not gonna get it. I just want control over my own life again"

Dave spread his arms to offer a hug, which Ella accepted "I thought that was a possibility."

Ella shrugged and pulled away from Dave reluctantly. "I hope that without cigarettes as an option, I could eventually get over it. The craving is stronger than I imagined. I sure hope that alliance that you and Sky made doesn't take me out"

Despite Ella's problem being very real, she couldn't help but use it to buy some pity votes against a target she had in mind.

Dave raised an eyebrow about Ella's knowledge about his alliance, but brushed it aside. It probably wouldn't pay off anyways.

"Were you the one who voted against Sky?" Dave asked (Reminder: Beardo was the vote against Sky).

"Sky had a vote against her?" asked Ella in shock

"Yeah, so did Leonard." said Dave "But Sugar got five". (Reminder: Shawn was the vote against Leonard)

Up until this point, Ella had assumed the votes were unanimous (Eliminations took place on Saturdays. This conversation took place on Sunday evening). The fact that Sky and Leonard had still received votes despite Sugar's comments shows just how desperate some people were to get one step closer to the million. Ella made a mental note to expose these rogue votes.

"Okay, thanks for this information." said Ella "And don't worry, I didn't get it from you". She capitalized this statement with a wink.

"Gotcha" said Dave, starting to walk towards Shawn to recover his rubber ball. Ella sighed frustratedly. She had so much information, but who would back her up if she chose to reveal it? Dave? Beardo? Ella crossed her arms and leaned towards the cavern wall. Was breaking her addiction really worth all this stress?

Dave and Sky also had a consequential conversation in the very early part of Wednesday morning.

"Who do you think voted against me?" Sky asked Dave as the two lay on to of a hill, looking into the sky. It was two o'clock in the morning, so there was no trace of sunlight. Just the stars that filled the sky, unaffected by light pollution.

"My original thought was Ella" admitted Dave "But I don't think it was her anymore. My only guess is that it was Sugar.

"So then who went against Leonard?" asked Sky

"I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and say that Beardo carried out the plan to take out Leonard thinking that we were still going after him"

Sky visibly relaxed "That makes sense, thanks Dave"

Dave threw an arm around Sky. "Anytime, love" he said in a fabricated Australian accent.

Chris, being the sappy romantic he is, decided to put on some soft piano music as the two fell asleep together on the dewy grass.

That's not to say that Rodney's Angels had nothing like this two. There was a secret plan made to drive a contestant insane.

Max and Scarlett walked along the beach. Well, Scarlett walked. Max had to jog to keep up with Scarlett's stride and pace.

"Do you have any targets in mind?" asked Scarlett. There was no secondary motive to this question, as Scarlett didn't have any loyalties in the game, other than an infatuation with Rodney. Scarlett didn't consider this an allegiance, because she wasn't a very romantic person to begin with.

"I don't, actually" Max lied. Max fully intended to use his first vote against Scarlett, but he couldn't tell her that. Scarlett may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but directly telling Scarlett that she was his target still wasn't the best idea ever. The title of 'Best Idea Ever' still belongs to masturbation.

"I guess we could go after Sammy" suggested Scarlett "Even if we don't get her out, she won't take being voted against very well".

Max stared at Scarlett with blatant shock. That was the first somewhat intelligent thing she had ever said. Sure, voting against Scarlett would be satisfying, but watching Sammy slowly go insane out of being voted against? That would be far more favorable. Perhaps there was some worth in keeping Scarlett around after all.

"Sounds like a plan, Red." said Max, snapping his fingers.

Confessional

Scarlett: "I had a gut feeling that Widdle Max didn't like me that much, so I went to Amy to help me brainstorm a plan to help Max like me more. That's the plan she came up with."

Sammy: "I don't believe what Scarlett just said? Amy's sending Max and Scarlett after me?" Sammy collapsed, interlacing her fingers between her legs "She's always like this, y'know. She doesn't care about me. It's like that bitch is a Communist. She thinks of everyone the same way, and right now, everyone is an obstacle to her"

End Confessional

On Saturday, the contestants gathered around Chris in a clearing inside the densely wooded forest. "Today, campers, I have something prepared for you that should be very painful." he said. For some reason, Chris was dressed like an old-timey butler with a very detailed uniform, with coattails and all. There was no reasoning or logic behind it.

"In this challenge, you will be going in our last name order. For the first leg of the obstacle course I have prepared for you, Rodney Adams and Sky Bryant. You have to run over greased logs. If you fall, there's some water to save you. But it's near freezing" he said, taking much joy in the uncomfort potential.

Chris didn't like causing direct pain to his contestants. He did think of them a little like his children. But he also felt that they had to earn the million dollars that waited for the winner at the end.

The logs were firmly nailed into the ground, suspended over a pit that was about a meter deep. The water itself was seven feet deep with no solid way of getting out.

Sky, like almost every female in the island, was at least somewhat attracted to Rodney, but she placed the importance of victory over having Rodney eat her out.

Sky placed a cautious foot on the log, testing its stability. When the log didn't give way, she placed her other foot on it. Her sense of place wasn't perfect, but her smaller, thinner body had an easier time staying the trunk then Rodney's bulky one.

Rodney stuck his arms out straight, keeping his body aligned, and he was saddened to find out that Sky was several feet out, ahead of him. Rodney abandoned his inhibitions and started sprinting. He slipped and fell. He didn't know where he was going to land until he felt the maddeningly cold water below swallow him like a child with a Goldfish cracker.

"And Sky wins it for The Fugitives" Chris announced. Rodney treaded the water until Chef came to drag him out. The muscled man was close to tears. He wasn't used to failure, and even if he failed, it was because of a decision that someone else made. Now, Rodney's reckless behavior had cost his Angels a point.

"The next round is Topher Conwell up against Shawn Contreras. Wow, same first three letters. What are the odds?" Amy opened her mouth to provide some statistical information, but Chris immediately pointed at her and said "Shut the fuck up" Amy closed her mouth and rolled her eyes.

Topher and Shawn eyed each other warily. They haven't had a ton of interaction at this point, and they didn't have a much to go off of.

"Let me lose" whispered Shawn "I have some bones to pick with my teammates"

"Only if we know why" countered Topher.

Shawn grinned, unaware that Topher intended to expose Shawn's malicious intentions. The ignorant broadcasted the next

Sentences as loudly as his lungs allowed him "So, I was made aware that Sky has made a pact with Beardo and Dave to get me eliminated. I don't know why it was me they went after, but I want to know". Dave glared at Ella, thinking it was her that divulged this information to him. Sky threw her hands in the air in disbelief. Beardo sneezed.

Then silence.

 **Yeezy: Hopefully I continue my surprizes, and believe me, I have some.**

 **Feline: I'm glad you think so. Despite my love for Samey, I always felt she was a little on the blander side.**


	4. Ella Used Sand-Attack!

**Sorry about the sudden disappearance of this chapter. I re-read it and found it wasn't to my normal standards.**

 **I have a question for anyone, including guests and people that don't feel like logging in. Do you want my next project to be this same concept with Revenge of The Island characters (Label list available upon request) or something else with these versions of generation three?**

"Let me lose" whispered Shawn "I have some bones to pick with my teammates"

"Only if we know why" countered Topher.

Shawn grinned, knowing what Topher was getting at. The ignorant broadcasted the next

Sentences as loudly as his lungs allowed him "So, I was made aware that Sky has made a pact with Beardo and Dave to get me eliminated. I don't know why it was me they went after, but I want to know". Dave glared at Ella, thinking it was her that divulged this information to him. Sky threw her hands in the air in disbelief. Beardo sneezed.

Then silence.

Ella slowly sat down as her strategy slowly crumbled around her. Not only that, but she had just lost Dave's trust. She planned on recruiting Shawn and Leonard and Dave to go against Sky after she confided in them. Now, as far as Dave knew, it was Ella that told Shawn about Sky's plan.

Ella looked at Dave, expecting him to cry or at least get angry, but this, fortunately, wasn't the case.

Dave shrugged it off.

Confessional

Dave: "I had this toxic girlfriend named Kai last year. She almost made me commit suicide over the guilt of all the things I did to her, until my therapist at the time looked over one of the texting conversations we had and it turns out, she was the manipulative and selfish one. She made me believe that we were having, ummm, relations, without her consent. She blamed her anxiety issues for saying yes. I did a little snooping, because I'm a creeper, and it turns out that she had no anxiety issues whatsoever. She definitely has some issues, though. She's lucky I didn't mention her last name."

"Ella using me for information isn't that surprising or upsetting after what Kai put me through. But trusting that druggie was a mistake"

Ella: "Hey, Shawn, if you're watching this from the Playa de Losers, please stick a metal rod up your ass until you can taste it. I caught feelings for that screwball. I wanted to take him to the end with me" Ella's composure fractured, and she started crying.

End Confessional

Shawn and Topher had to zipline across a one hundred and twenty foot gorge without dropping a souvenir glass from Bubba Gump's, an apparent favorite of Chris'.

Topher looked at Shawn "You sure you want to risk being eliminated over this?" asked Topher.

Before Shawn could answer, Topher ran off the cliff, allowing gravity to take him across. "Suck it, fuckboy!" declared Topher, thrusting his pelvis forward, accidentally hitting Max in the stomach. Max toppled over and rolled back onto his feet in one fluid motion

Sammy looked at Max oddly, almost as if she was envious. Jasmine, on the other end of the spectrum, as laughing her ass off.

"How'd that taste?" asked Jasmine

"I, unfortunately for Topher.." everyone expected Max to say that he was straight "have standards"

Topher pouted "But, Maxie, did last night mean nothing?" joked Topher

Max shook his head, and Topher fell to his knees, screaming "Noooo!" at the top of his lungs, while being unable to contain a smile.

"Max Hoover and Ella Gray, your challenge is a hundred meter dash" said Chris, trying and failing to keep a straight face over Max's and Topher's antics, pun intended. Max gave Ella a quick once over. Ella was approximately five inches taller than him, meaning she had longer legs than him.

"Just pretend Max is the police" Ella mumbled under her breath "And you'll be fine"

"Did you guys think it was any hundred meter dash?" asked Chris deviously.

"Of course not" said Max obstreperously "I don't have that kind of luck"

"You have to run it barefoot on blisteringly hot sand." announced Chris "Everyone to the beach"

The tension was remarkably thick between The Fugitives. It was so thick, in fact, that it couldn't even be cut with a knife.

Dave was hurt that Ella had betrayed him and relayed information to Shawn, despite the fact that this wasn't even the case (Reminder: Shawn found out when Chris told Sugar about Sky's alliance).

Ella was confused and angry with Shawn for exposing Sky, which subsequently destroyed her plans. She was also a little agitated at Dave for believing that it was Ella that exposed him so easily.

Beardo was a little worried, but not really. If push came to shove, he had the secret that it was _him_ that voted for Sky, not Sugar. Beardo was a little discombobulated on why Sugar would vote for Leonard. Then he recalled that Sugar was racist as shit.

Beardo then realized that 'racist as shit' was a weird phrase, because shit wasn't racist at all. Because shit doesn't have the capability of being racist due to it being shit.

Shawn, despite turning almost everyone against him, felt really good about himself. He did what he thought was right. As far as he knew, Sky was as good as gone.

Sky was near tears. Shawn was already against her. If Leonard figured out that he was also on her alliance's hitlist, then she would be in a deeper hole than she's already in. Leonard had near-genius intellect, and would make a far more dangerous enemy than Shawn would.

Leonard honestly didn't give a rat's ass about what was going on. He was more concerned with the fact that he let Hagrid take care of his hippogriff instead of someone more responsible.

Once they got to the beach, Ella and Max kicked off their shoes, and they both squealed as their soles were burned by the sizzling sand. Everyone but Chris winced in sympathy.

"Ready, set, go!" said Chris, perfectly unharmed by the forest's edge.

Ella, due to her legs being longer and being in better shape than Max, got the initial lead, but Max had a scheme to fix that. It was fairly simple. Pick up some sand and throw it and Ella's hair.

Thousands of scorching grains of sand attached themselves to Ella's scalp. Still, Ella persisted and crossed the finish line before Max did. Then Ella scooped up her own pile of thermogenic sand, and threw it at Max's face. Max sidestepped the volley of sand, and it hit Dave instead.

Confessional

Dave: "Well, Kai never did that"

Ella: "Are you fucking kidding me?! My luck is actually just complete ass. Now my relationship with Dave is as dead as, well, I guess something that dies a lot. Don't mayflies only live about thirty minutes? Yeah, that's a proper analogy. My relationship with Dave is as dead as a mayfly that watched a full episode of Spongebob Squarepants."

Max: "Did you think standing in front of Dave was an accident? I feel bad, but I need that million so I can finally get Mom and I out of my father's grasp. It's nothing personal, guys."

End Confessional

Sky brushed the sand off Dave's body, getting more intimate than she intended and sneering at Ella the whole time. Dave just looked neutral. Up until this point, he had been considering asking Ella or Sky to have a relationship with him after the game was over. Ella just made that choice a whole lot easier.

"You okay, Dave?" asked Ella halfheartedly, expecting an explosion in response. Instead, Dave just shook his head solemnly.

Dave then plastered a smile on his face "Yes, I am, Princess. I just have one hundred and eighty degree grains of sand where I plan to urinate later. That's all" Ella sighed. She hoped that Dave would at least show some emotion, but he just used sarcasm as a shield. Ella had seen enough relationships to know that if someone was sarcastic a lot, it was almost to the breaking point.

You'd think that Rodney's Angels were calmer about this whole Sand Situation, but in actuality, not really.

"Good move there, Max" congratulated Amy. Max's clever brain worked quickly for an out. Amy was laying out a verbal trap here. If he accepted Amy's praise, he would look like an asshole that just sabotaged a friendship. Which he was, but it's not like he wants everyone to know. That'll get him eliminated.

"It was an accident" Max objected loudly "Why would you encourage behavior like that if it's intentional?"

Max internally grinned. Not only had he exonerated himself from any douchebaggery; he had placed a target on Amy's back. Sure, it wasn't a big one, but Rodney's Angels got along for the most part. The tiniest screw-up made you the biggest target on the team. Max was impressed with his own deviousness.

Max knew Amy's fate was as good as sealed when Rodney gave her a disapproving look. If Rodney gave the smallest indication that he wanted Amy out, Scarlett and Jasmine would vote Amy off. If Max voted for Amy as well, that would be a majority. Amy was doomed the moment Rodney opened his mouth "That's not cool, Amy. Dave might be in serious pain, and he thinks Ella was aiming for him"

Amy looked at Rodney in skepticism. "Ella clearly was aiming for Max. If he takes that any other way, he's a bigger dumbass than I thought".

Confessional

Max: "This is just too easy. Amy doesn't understand basic human emotion. Despite the fact she makes Plato look like a dumbass, she's easy to manipulate"

End Confessional

Amy seemed surprised at her teammates disapproving looks, but she shrugged it off. Her challenge was next.

"Okay, so because both Sammy and Amy have the last name Moon, they'll be competing against Leonard Maverick" informed Chris "Whoever can unscramble the following letters into a famous name will win the point. L-W-I-L-T-I-M-H-S.

Amy and Sammy couldn't work together as well as Rodney's Angels hoped they would. Sammy didn't mention the fact that Amy tried to send Max and Scarlett after her, but the thought weighed heavily on her mind.

"There's two L's" Sammy pointed out. Amy started carving two lines into the sand, representing the L's. Unfortunately, for the identical twins, it was already too late.

"Will Smith?" suggested Leonard uncertainly.

"Well, that didn't take long" said Chris, more than a little disappointed at Leonard's efficiency. "There are two more legs to this challenge. If The Fugitives win this next one, Rodney's Angels are sending someone home. If Rodney's Angels somehow pull two wins out of their asses, then it goes into sudden death. Our next challenge belongs to Beardo Smokechain and Scarlett Tarro"

Rodney's Angels, at this point, knew their goose was cooked. Scarlett couldn't tell the difference between a chalkboard and a deejay booth. Scarlett was reasonably in shape, but one look at Beardo made it clear whose body outmatched whose.

"This is an easy one. There's a climbing wall about half a kilometer north. The first person to get to the other side of it, wins"

Scarlett and Beardo looked at each other and ran. Beardo sprinted as fast as his bulky legs could carry him. Scarlett, being a more experienced runner than Beardo, paced herself. Both team were cheering their hardest. Well, everyone on Rodney's Angels was. The Fugitive's overall mood was pretty sullen at this point. Especially, Dave, who thought Ella had thrown extremely hot sand on him in purpose. Evidently, he was a bigger dumbass than Amy thought.

Scarlett and Beardo were about even in speed "You don't talk much, do you?" asked Scarlett. Beardo nodded, confirming Scarlett's suspicions.

"You don't mind if I throw this, do you. Amy wants me to vote out Sammy. Or was it the other way around? Damn it, I forgot what twin I was supposed to vote out"

Beardo, giving approximately zero fucks about Scarlett's dilemma, poured on the speed and left Scarlett inhaling his dust.

Scarlett frowned and tried to catch up to him as the climbing wall loomed into view. Beardo lept on it and pulled himself up like the beast he is. Scarlett ambled around the wall, reaching the finish line first, but accidentally eliminating herself because she didn't climb the wall

Chris caught up with the two racers, panting heavily. "And Beardo wins" he said weakly, before buckling and falling down

"He's super out of shape for someone with abs like that" said Topher, coming into the clearing

"That's not very nice" objected Sammy, who had followed Topher, slugging him on his upper arm. Sammy was pleasantly surprised when her fist met firm, strong biceps.

Confessional

Topher: "Have you ever looked at a girl, or a guy, and thought 'Damn, that person is the shit!'. That's kinda how I feel about Sammy. "

Sammy: "Sure, Rodney's hot and muscular and caring, he seems a little airheaded. Topher may not be as handsome as Rodney, but looks aren't permanent. I'd rather have someone like Topher who's nice and althetic and not to mention, that bubblebutt" Sammy started fanning her face "Amy can have Rodney all she wants"

End Confessional

I

The Fugitives went back to their hideout. We'll check in with them to see how the events of their first victory later, but most of the important stuff happened in the hideout that housed Rodney's Angels.

"So, losing sucks" documented Jasmine, who had remained silent most of the day. Because her last name is Yvette, she didn't really have a chance to compete over the day. She was walking around the forest. The hideout was barely in view, with Sammy and Topher to accompany her.

"Yeah, I feel like you two are safe" said Sammy "Because you didn't compete and you won your challenge"

Topher nodded and Jasmine shrugged.

"Don't worry that it that much" said Topher "You're not on anyone's radar"

Sammy gave a shaky smile "Maybe. I overheard Amy trying to send Scarlett and Max after me"

"Are you fucking serious?" asked Jasmine in complete shock "She's your sister"

"It's always like this. Amy thinks of everyone the same exact way. We're all just obstacles in the way of a million dollars." Sammy sighed "I can't break through to her"

Topher ruffled up Sammy's hair "Some people are just like that."

"But she's my identical twin. Don't you think that she'd at least treat me a little differently?"

"I know it's hard" comforted Topher "My father didn't treat me the best either, and Max has some nightmares about an authority figure, so I'm guessing he has some experience about not having the best family ever"

"How do you know that Max has nightmares?" asked Jasmine

"He sleeptalks" explained Topher. Jasmine nodded, this making sense in her mind.

Sammy curled up into a ball and sniffled. Topher and Jasmine looked at the emotional twin and made a decision to vote Amy out as soon as possible. Sammy wouldn't deal with this if she didn't have to.

In The Fugitive's cave, everyone Sky, Dave, and Beardo went outside to discuss strategy and how to find themselves evading more and more elimination ceremonies.

Confessional

Ella: "I feel really shitty about what I did to Dave, even if it was an accident. I wonder if he's thinking about me."

Dave: "Does anyone else feel like Director Krennic deserved more screentime than he got?"

End Confessional

Ella watched Sky, Dave and Beardo shake hands and part ways, as if whatever alliance they had made had been dissolved. Ella was momentarily emboldened and went to go talk with Dave, now that the threat of Sky and Beardo was gone.

Loud, techno music started playing in one of the less densely wooded parts of the forested island. It was Dave playing a song on his MP3 Player (I remember in the first season, that the campers could listen to music, but not access the Internet. Also, Dave was listening to the Soundwell remix of Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol).

The music was loud, energetic, and a little bit melancholy. A lot like Dave himself.

"Hey, Dave, can we talk?"

Dave nodded, but didn't say anything supportive. On the other hand, he didn't say anything discouraging either.

"I'm sorry for hitting you with sand" Ella said quickly.

Dave raised an eyebrow "It's not on you. Max aggravated you"

Ella frowned. If Dave was so quick to bury the hatchet, why did he still seem upset?

"Everything alright, Princess?" asked Dave "Normally people are a little happier when I forgive them"

Ella quickly put on a smile "Of course I am. Are you alright, Normal Guy?"

Dave's expression turned deadly serious "Never call me that. And, no, everything isn't okay. Sky's pissed at everyone. She's mad at me for telling you about the alliance. She's mad at Shawn for exposing the alliance. And Beardo just told her that he was the vote against her, so she's gunning for him. I feel like if Sky gets Beardo out, I'm next in line"

"Then we keep Beardo as long as we can. Simple as that" Ella mitigated.

"There's a storm brewing, and I'm pretty sure it's name is A Sky and Leonard Alliance" said Dave sourly

"Life's not about hiding from the storm. It's about learning to dance in the rain"

At the campfire ceremony, Rodney's Angels looked nervous as Chris explained how elimination ceremonies worked. Each camper would visit the Confessional and reveal their vote. Chris would give the results afterward, without exposing who voted for who.

Scarlett was called to the Confessional first, for no apparent reason other than the fact that she came to production's mind first.

The Votes

Scarlett: "I want Amy out. Or was it Sammy? Oh well, Amy was the name that came first into my mind"

Max: "I want to throw a hand grenade into my team. I vote for Jasmine"

Amy: "Seeing Max's intelligence combined with his athleticism, makes him currently the biggest threat between me and the prize"

Rodney: "Amy isn't that nice. I'd rather not have her here."

Sammy: "I don't want to vote for my sister, but what choice do I have? I'm sorry, Amy."

Jasmine: "For Sammy's sake, Amy needs to go"

Topher: "I hope Amy leaving helps Sammy just a little bit"

Chris counted the votes and announced that Rodney, Scarlett, Topher, and Sammy had not gotten any votes against them.

Max wasn't necessarily surprised that someone voted against him. He was almost nearly certain it was Amy, considering that he was the vote against Jasmine and everyone else voted for Amy.

When he and Jasmine were excused, Sammy started crying when she realized that Amy wasn't coming back.

Max leaned back against a tree, and listened to Jasmine scream at everyone, trying to figure out who voted against her.


	5. The Beginning of The End

**Review responses**

 **Hemps37: Thanks, I think.**

 **heatwave harry: I know which it'll be. None of you do, and I'm gonna keep it that way.**

 **PhantomlordJ: That's the plan, rocket man.**

 **yeezy: It's only gonna get worse from here.**

It had been three days since Amy's elimination, and a lot of mysteries loomed above Rodney's Angels. The first of the two was; had Amy voted for Max and Jasmine? And the other was who voted for the one that Amy hadn't voted against.

Only Max was completely aware how the votes went. Amy had received five votes, courtesy of Jasmine, Topher, Sammy, Rodney, and the increasingly endearing Scarlett. Max himself had voted for Jasmine, but he had managed to deflect most of the blame to Rodney. And because he himself had gotten a vote, he assumed that Amy had gone after him, which made Max feel all the more safe now that she was gone.

Ma hoped that his father approved of his devious tactics. Although, if he won the million, his father would no longer matter. Hopefully, his mother's unborn child would live a life untainted by that horrible excuse for a man.

Scarlett seemed to have an internal Max detector built inside of her, because she always seemed to know exactly where he was and when he was upset.

The redhead found Max pouting inside of their hideout

"Everything okay, Maxie?" asked Scarlett "Everyone is outside having fun on the beach. And you're being missed"

Truth be told, Max felt extremely guilty for voting against Jasmine and making her paranoid. It did destabilize her, exactly like he had hoped, but if that got her eliminated the next time Rodney's Angels was on the chopping block, he would feel greatly remorseful.

"I just…"

"No excuses" interrupted Scarlett "You're having fun today if I have to drag you out; kicking and screaming"

Max saw that there was no way to escape Scarlett and remain cooped up in the hideout all day, so he reluctantly said "Get out so I can change"

Scarlett smiled "Good choice, Maxie. See you out there"

As Max peeled off his shirt and replaced it with a rashgaurd, he considered entering a romantic relationship with Scarlett. He ultimately decided against it, mainly because if he wanted to escape his neglectful father, he'd eventually have to orchestrate Scarlett's elimination. He didn't want to have to that. He cursed himself as he let a few tears escape.

He pulled up his black, amphibious shorts and joined the rest of the campers who splashed in the waves. Truth be told, he didn't expect The Fugitives to actually be there. For a few brief hours, the dozen teenagers were just a group of friends, enjoying a much needed break from real life.

The Ella and Sky started a conversation. Max knew they had some sort of rivalry, although he didn't know how it originated. He also knew that Dave was involved somehow, but he didn't know how.

He felt worry for Ella rise in his chest. Sky was a lot bigger than Ella was, and she also looked very robust. Ella did have some meat on her bones, but not a lot compared to Sky.

"I think we need to discuss something" Sky told Ella.

Sky didn't have any good intentions starting this conversation. With Shawn exposing her alliance and Beardo confirming its existence, she needed to transfer her target to someone else. She counted on Ella freaking out and saying something she'd later regret.

Ella looked at Sky with almost no emotion. She knew good and well that Sky was her biggest challenge between her and victory, both with the show and with Dave's heart. "Then started talking. Can't guarantee I'm gonna answer you. Or give a fuck"

"Why did you throw sand at Dave?" asked Sky

Ella rolled her eyes "I threw it at Max because he threw some at me. Turns out he even did that accidentally. Why are you trying to stir shit up?"

Sky had underestimated Ella's skill in arguing. She felt several pair of eyes on her, most of them on her team.

"Just walk away" suggested Leonard "The damage is done". The Hogwarts dropout knew that there was nothing Sky could say to turn the tables back on Ella, but there was another target she could pursue in order to regain her safety. If she went after Shawn and pointed out that he tried to throw Saturday's challenge, then the target on her back would be transferred to him.

Either way, Leonard knew that the voting ceremony on the upcoming weekend would be a close one. Leonard shrugged as a particularly powerful wave washed over him, dousing him in water. Pahkitew Island was close to tropical waters, meaning the ocean was easier to play in, but there was a higher chance of them all being slaughtered by a hurricane.

Leonard knew his days were numbered. He had played out each and every possible scenario regarding social interaction and challenges. The farthest he made was seventh, due to people being intimidated by his magical ability, which they just labeled as him being perspicuous.

Leonard sighed and dove into the water. At least for now, he would enjoy feeling normal, until the inevitable conclusion. Then, it was back to Hogwarts, and he'd never see any of these amazing, intriguing people.

Sky failed to listen to Leonard's advice and went after Ella some more.

"Because you're moving in on Dave, and I very clearly had dibs. He agreed to an alliance with me, not you"

Dave was too far away from Ella and Sky to hear the argument. He was having a discussion with Sammy, Jasmine, and Topher about child names.

Ella frowned. For a moment, she thought about what Sky had said. She came to the conclusion that Sky was just probing her for a reaction, and the wisest choice was not to give her the reaction. Ella allowed herself a devilish grin. The wisest choice wasn't what Ella associated herself with.

"An alliance that failed to get their target off this island and even turned on you?" asked Ella sweetly

That's when Sky took things too far. She swung. It was a nasty right hook that would've made Rodney shit his pants.

Leonard quickly analyzed the two young women. Sky's fighting style was prim and polished from years of experience, fighting her boyfriend Keith in the octagon.

Leonard had to make a conscious effort not to gasp. Sky was making all this commotion, primarily because she wanted Dave for herself, and she had someone else?

Leonard recalled having a talk with Dave, Beardo, and Shawn about previous girlfriends they've had before coming to the island. Leonard had dated a girl named Pansy Parkinson, who turned out to be a terrorist sympathizer. Shawn had once dated a girl named Madison Blair, an obnoxious cheerleader. Shawn didn't enjoy her that much, but she was protective and 'great in bed' whatever that meant.

Dave, by far, at the most to share on the subject. Leonard felt for the weirdo, and he didn't deserve women that took swipes at each other. In his opinion, Leonard felt that Dave deserved better than Sky. Was Ella that superior option? Leonard had yet to conclude.

Ella ducked Sky's blow with more agility than Leonard expected her to have. Ella then returned Sky's knuckle sandwich with one of her own. Leonard reconsidered a relationship between between Dave and Ella.

Because Leonard knew he wasn't going to win the million dollars, he settled for a secondary goal of assisting Dave with his dilemma. So far, at least two girls on this island had romantic and/or sexual feelings towards him, and if Leonard could help Dave, even in the most insignificant way, he certainly would.

It was Friday on Pahkitew Island, and nerves were running high for the following day's competition. Due to the physical confrontation between Sky and Ella, the were sentenced to opposite ends of the island for the remainder of the week, due to the risk of another fight breaking out.

Needless to say, Dave was furious at the two women, despite him not knowing that it was their feelings towards him that caused it. Most of the witnesses had told him that Sky was the one who initiated the fight, so most of Dave's disappointment was directed at her. Not all of it.

Confessional

Dave: "I know this sounds bad, but I'm afraid of starting a conversation with Ella or Sky, because I'm afraid they'll just act like Kai did." Dave slammed his head on the back on the Confessional "I still have feelings for Kai, don't I? It's so stupid. I'm so tired of her, but I can never seem to shake away the feeling that maybe Kai will come back to me. I wish I was smart enough to know when to give up."

"I'm tired of screaming. I'm tired of crying. I'm tired of being sad." Dave's voice slowly morphed from saturnine to enraged "I'm tired of pretending. I'm tired of being alone. I'm tired of being angry. I'm tired of feeling crazy. I'm tired of feeling stuck. I'm tired of remembering. I wish I could just let go of Kai and move on."

End Confessional

Ella was extremely angry. Not at Dave. Not even at Sky. Ella was frustrated with herself. She did exactly what Sky wanted. Ella had to hand it to Sky, she was a decent manipulator. That didn't make Ella feel any better in the predicament she was in. If the fight between her and Sky had gone on for another fifteen seconds, both of them would've been cut from the competition.

One thing that really freaked Ella out was the paranormal force that drove her and Sky apart. The both suddenly just stopped moving. Ella saw Leonard mumble under his breath while she and Sky were frozen in time. Either he was praying the paranormal freezing wouldn't affect him, ot he _was_ the paranormal force.

Ella was thinking about the potential of Leonard being not quite human when Dave walked by her little area. He was whistling eerie, intimidating tune, something Dave did when he was upset. Ella thought about talking to Dave about what was bothering him when the realization hit that she could be what's bothering him. Ella didn't want to make Dave's day any worse, so she veered away from him.

Dave saw Ella avoid him and sighed. There was a certain amount of ambiguity to Ella. Dave wasn't sure if Ella liked him or wanted him buried alive sometimes.

As the two lovebirds flew out of each other's paths, romance bloomed in Rodney's Angels with very little stopping it.

Sammy and Topher almost never left each other's side.

Confessional

Topher: "Sammy actually appreciates me for me. I don't have to make an be the impressionist around her, because she likes Topher. Not Channing Tatum. Not Morgan Freeman. Not even Greedo. Me!"

End confessional

The only thing that was really messing with Rodney's Angels was Jasmine's paranoia, founded by the single vote for her on last week today. Due to Jasmine's intimidating size, both Scarlett and Rodney admitted to voting against her, just to get her off their back. Jasmine, who attended a drama-ridden public high school, knew they were both lying. It made her uncomfortable that her teammates would lie to her face just to get hey to go away, and it really undermined her trust in her teammates, even more so than Max expected it to.

Topher and Sammy strolled on the beach in the evening, when the sand went from insanely hot down to pleasantly warm. "What do you think the challenge will be tomorrow?" asked Sammy

"That's like picking out a needle from a haystack. It could be almost anything" said Topher, a notable amount of fear in his voice.

"I'm kinda glad Amy's already gone. People would've thought we were gonna make a sisters alliance and vote the same way"

"Who do you want off next?" asked Topher

"Jasmine is making me physically uncomfortable" said Sammy "I get it, I would be pretty mad, too, if someone on our team voted against me, but don't get in everyone's face and scream about it. That was probably the voter's intention"

"I think it was Scarlett that did it. She's probably some sort of secret genius" said Topher.

Sammy and Topher looked at the waterline, where Scarlett was encouraging the coconut on her wall, which she had named Mr. Coconut, to swim. Topher laughed nervously "Or maybe not"

Sammy grinned. Maybe, even with the thought of Amy ever present in her mind, she could have a good time with the impressionist with the hair gel.

The following morning, the campers woke up bright and early to make sure they were prepared for Saturday's competition in every sense of the word. The stakes were especially high for Sky and Jasmine, who believed they would get eliminated if their respective teams lost.

Sky felt paranoid that her behavior at the beach the previous day would be seen as unacceptable by her teammates. Besides, Beardo was already against her, and he's one of the biggest physical competitors on the island, only beaten out by Jasmine and maybe Rodney. Sky couldn't count on either of them to save her from Beardo's intentions due to the fact that they were on opposing sides.

"Alright, campers, I have a little surprise for you." said Chris "Come to the Shoreline as soon as possible. I have a little something special for you" Chris chuckled ominously and shut off the loudspeaker system.

When the two teams lined up on the Shoreline, Chris had two crates waiting for them "Good morning, fuckheads" greeted Chris "Today is a beefed up version of Capture the Flag. Here's how it works"

"In one crate, there's a statue of a prisoner and weaponry for The Fugitives. In the other, there's a statue of an angel and weaponry for Rodney's Angels. Hide the statue and guard it with the weapons you have received. Don't worry, they're all airsoft bullets. They won't kill you, but you'll be able to notice if it hits you"

"Um, is that a metaphor for how painful this will be?" asked Max

"Have you ever dropped a bowling ball on your little pinkie toe?" asked Chris rhetorically

"What?" asked Max, even more confused.

"What Chris is trying to say is that it'll hurt really bad for a few minutes, but you'll get over it pretty fast" explained Topher

Confessional

Chris: "I can't believe that one of my own campers just showed me up on my own international reality television show."

Topher: "Chris is a okay guy and all, but he's a few McDonald's meals short of a diagnosis of type two diabetes"

End Confessional

Rodney's Angels

Inside Rodney's Angel's box was all sorts of guns that made Jasmine and Maz giggle with glee and Sammy and Topher recoil a little bit.

Jasmine pulled out the first gun she saw, a minigun. "How much do these things cost?"

Max pulled out a very heavy looking pistol that was colored bright magenta "Purple. There's something about purple that seems very evil to me. Maybe i should dye my hair purple when I get off this island"

Scarlett picked up a lighter looking pistol and waved it around in the air "That's a horrible idea, Maxie"

Max rolled his eyes at the unintelligent girl "O-kayyyyy"

Rodney fished out an odd looking bo staff. Rodney quickly realized that he wasn't a bo staff, but it was a stop sign with the word 'ass' instead of 'stop'. Rodney spun it around, accidentally hitting Topher in the face.

"Sorry about that" called Rodney, wincing.

Topher clutched his nose, trying to contain the blood as he picked out the destructive superweapon of a turtle shell painted red.

"Really, Jasmine gets a minigun and I get a fucking Mario Kart reference?" exclaimed Topher in frustration.

Sammy started laughing, then immediately stopped as she realized the weapon she picked was actually just a white teddy bear the size of a third grade child. "Eh, kinda deserved that" said Sammy, struggling to lift the soft, artificial polar bear.

Max stared in disbelief as everyone loaded their weapons. He didn't want to be Sammy and Topher right about now. Rodney's weapon may be a little ridiculous, but at least it was viable. If he had the skill, he could use the ass sign to deflect the opposing team's bullets, though this was a little farfetched.

The Fugitives

Dave tore open the box Chris gave them like a kid on Christmas. He put his hand in the box and immediately pulled out a Samsung Note 7 "Huh, I didn't know Chris was letting us use explosives"

Sky got a sniper rifle and Ella got an identical sniper rifle. They immediately got into an argument on who's sniper rifle was better, which caused everyone to roll their eyes.

Beardo got a bow with sticks instead of arrows. Beardo grinned sadistically. He could use something like this.

Shawn managed to get himself a submachine gun.

Leonard just got a piece of Tupperware.

 **Take your guess on who you think is being eliminated next.**


	6. No Wizards Were Harmed

The Fugitives

Chris had a chuckle over the Samsung Note 7 joke, and then exchanged it with Dave for an AirSoft FAMAS.

The Fugitives walked back to their cave in an awkward sort of silence. Ella and Sky were glaring daggers at each other. Shawn and Dave were silently playing Rock, Paper, Scissors. Much to Dave's disgruntlement, Shawn was winning every time.

Once the team reached their cave, Beardo, in a rare decision to break his taciturnity, decided to break the silence.

"Is anyone the least bit curious as to what my real name is?" He asked. His voice was deep and smooth, as if a thundercloud was trying to serenade the moon. The echo that the cave provided to his voice made him sound like a combination of Gandalf and Morgan Freeman.

Dave jumped up from excitement and accidentally fired his burst weapon into the mossy rock that Shawn sleeps on. "Dear God, yes."

"I thought your name was Beardo. Didn't Chris say your name was Beardo Smokechain during that Mini Olympics?" Asked Sky. Ella winced at the memory of the Mini Olympics and throwing enkindled sand at Dave's crotch. She looked at Dave to see if he had any particular reaction, but he did not. Dave was still transfixed at the opportunity to learn more about the mysterious Beardo.

Beardo crossed his arms haughtily "Well, my real name is Devin Maisano."

Beardo very rarely revealed his real name to anyone. In fact, most of the yearbooks from his elementary school had misidentified Devin as Beardo, even long before he had a beard. However, he had a classmate named Devean and people called him Beardo Jr. because his father had a big, bushy beard. Once tenth grade came around, and Beardo got a beard of his own, his nickname changed to Beardo.

Dave grinned "It has always been a fact of life that Devin and Caen are the two coolest names a fella can have."

Ella took a break from scowling at Sky to interject "What about Cullinan?"

Dave blinked "Fucking what!?"

Sky looked smugly at Ella after they heard Dave's adverse reaction.

Ella doubled down on her claim "Back in America, I knew a guy named Cullinan. He used to panhandle underneath the Santa Monica Pier. Now that I think back on it, there's a strong chance that Cullinan wasn't his real name."

Beardo sighed "Let's just focus on trying to find a suitable place to hide our statue. Leonard, you seem to have a gift for this sort of stuff."

Leonard's eyes shifted from person to person and found that each Fugitive was looking at him expectantly for an answer, however, Leonard didn't need a magic answer for it. "All we have to do is throw it in a bush and act like we threw it in another bush."

Beardo and Dave looked at each other hesitantly. "Oh, my God.." Dave muttered.

"So simplistic yet so refined." Said Ella, mystified.

Leonard started getting a little squeamish with all the attention he was getting. "It would be better if we threw it in a random bush. That way we can't even give away the correct location if one of us is captured." Knowing the ruthlessness of Max, Leonard had to prepare for anything and everything.

Something about Max made Leonard uneasy. He was a Nomag to be sure, but even the most cunning and intelligent Nomags represented a threat to Wizarding kind. Also, something associated with Max gave very powerful vibes. An ancient kind of magic that not only predated wizards, but humanity itself. A dragon-like thing. Leonard made a promise to himself to investigate Max's susceptibility after tomorrow evening's elimination.

"Are you sure?" Asked Sky, raising an eyebrow. Sky didn't necessarily dislike Leonard's plan, but she did dislike that fact that it was a threat to her leadership. Sky chided herself for being paranoid. Sure, Leonard was scary smart, but he was also on her side. For now.

Leonard, in response, threw the statue outside of the cavern with an emboldened "YEET!"

Sky raised threw her hands up in frustration but couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Alright, he's sure. Dave, Beardo and I will play offense. Shawn, Ella and Leonard, you stay here and keep our statue safe...wherever it is."

Ella raised a hand but didn't wait until anyone gave her permission to speak "See, Captain Sky, I have a sniper rifle. That is the absolute pinnacle of offensive weaponry."

"You can use the scope as a telescope, Ella." chided Sky.

"I'm an American. I'm not exactly sure you're qualified to be lecturing me on this shit." said Sky lethargically.

"You're staying here." barked Sky.

"Both of you, cool it!" snarled Dave. Both Ella and Sky jumped at his sudden hostility. "You two are stressing me the hell out and I'm sick of it. Ella, Sky, you two take Shawn and you'll be playing offense. If you two can't work out your bullshit on the field, then we'll have a team discussion. Kapeesh?"

Ella and Sky both looked at Dave. Sky had an expression that showed both anger and disdain. Dave wasn't sure who it was directed at, and in the moment, he didn't care.

"Alright campers!" Chris's overzealous voice floated faintly through the forest from a nearby loudspeaker "Grace period is over. Let's get to the pain train!"

Rodney's Angels

Topher was concerned. Not necessarily about the challenge. Topher was more concerned about Max. Topher's section of The Cabana. He heard Max groan and mutter in his sleep. The little guy was obviously affected by something horrific. One name kept coming up. Gabarra.

At least from what Topher was able to decipher, Gabarra was a name. The name of something that haunted Max that also wasn't quite human.

As Rodney's Angels walked to the Cabana, a head and feet popped out of the red turtle shell. Immediately, Scarlett squealed in delight.

"Aw, she's so cute." she said with glee.

"What should we name it?" Asked Rodney.

"I dunno. It's Topher's turtle, he should be able to name it." Argued Sammy.

A faint smile played on Topher's lips, intending to name the turtle after his favorite thing from home. "Say hello to Hennessy."

"Hello, Hennessy." said Scarlett brightly. In response, Hennessy nipped at her finger when Scarlett tried petting his head. Right then and there, Max decided that he would lay down his life for Hennessy and invest countless hours and dollars keeping him safe from the outside world. Any sort of danger to Scarlett was worth keeping around.

"Well, that's adorable and all, but where are we going to hide this statue?" asked Jasmine. Her demeanor had gone from unstable to waspish. Everyone was afraid of what Jasmine would do if someone set her off. She was a time bomb.

"I think the logical answer is to hide it in the Cabana and all guard it from there" Said Max.

"So we'd all play defense?" Asked Topher skeptically, awkwardly stroking Hennessy's shell.

"Well, they're gonna split up into offensive and defensive teams. Probably three and three. We take out their attackers then we all go on the hunt." Explained Max.

"Let's do it!" said Sammy excitedly. Topher looked like he wanted to argue against Max's plan, but seemed to decide against it after Sammy voiced her approval.

"You, my friend, are a very devious person." Said Rodney, clapping Max on the back.

Max twirled his pistol around his extended finger and grinned, "I try my best."

Confessional

Rodney: "Max is one devious little shit. I'm glad he's on my team.

Jasmine: "It was him, wasn't it"

End Confessional

"Where in the Cabana should we put it?" Asked Sammy.

Max scoffed "That's an easy one. Inside your bear."

Topher coaxed Hennessy to bite Sammy's bear open so Jasmine could shove shove the statue inside of it.

"Alright campers!" Chris's overzealous voice floated faintly through the forest from a nearby loudspeaker "Grace period is over. Let's get to the pain train!"

Fugitive Attackers

Sky, Ella and Shawn made a beeline for the beach, thinking that Rodney's Angels would likely hide their statue inside their shelter.

"We can't keep acting like this" Ella whispered to Sky "Otherwise we'll both lose him."

Sky nodded solemnly "I know. It feels dirty that I'm even going after him."

Ella was taken aback at Sky's churlish demeanor. "Why?"

Sky seesawed her hand and obviously had some internal struggle "I have a boy back home. His name is Keith. But Keith, he's more of a friend with benefits thing. And he's getting most of the benefits. I'm not attracted to him the same way I am to Dave."

"If there are any cameras around here, Chris is definitely airing you saying this." cautioned Ella.

Sky nodded "Consider it retribution for making an alliance within my own team."

"But who gets Dave?" asked Ella.

"I don't know." said Sky after a while.

"Hey, guys, I have an idea," said Shawn, infusing himself in the conversation "Have you guys ever seen one of those sitcoms where two people are begging for a dog to join them on opposite sides of the room and the dog goes to the person it likes more?"

"How do I have no idea what you're talking about but also know exactly what you're talking about?" quipped Ella.

"You're saying that we treat Dave like a dog?" Asked Sky incredulously.

The sound of waves crashing of the Angel's Beach disrupted Shawn's train of thought. "I'll explain better after we get their statue."

Ella looked down the scope of her sniper rifle and frowned. "All six of them are there"

"They didn't send a send a single attacker?" asked Shawn.

Sky also aimed her sniper rifle at the Cabana, and sure enough, all six of Rodney's Angels were there. Rodney was swinging his ass sign around like a baseball bat. Jasmine was struggling to even lift her minigun off the ground. Sammy and Topher appeared to be weaponless, probably victims of Chris' mischievousness. Max appeared to be aiming a purple pistol right at where Ella, Sky and Shawn were stationed, but he was too far away to actually see them.

"Shit" muttered Sky "There's no way we can take all of them."

"Shawn, go back to the cave and get the others. We'll rush them and surprise them that way." ordered Ella. Shawn saluted and trudged off in the wrong direction.

"I kind of expected that." said Ella earnestly.

"We can take out a few," said Sky, taking aim. Ella followed suit, taking aim at Rodney's head.

'Who're you aiming for?" Asked Ella, wanting to make sure that they took out as many targets as possible just in case reinforcements never arrived. Ella didn't trust Shawn's competency as a messenger. It could very well may be that Ella and Sky were facing the entirety of Rodney's Angels alone.

Rodney's Angels

"Hey, Max, can I talk to you for a second?" asked Topher nervously.

Max was quizzical at Topher's jitters, but motioned for him to continue.

"Who's Gabarra?"

Max's eyebrows leapt up. Immediately and instinctively, Max put his pistol to Topher's forehead. "How the hell do you know that name?"

"You talk in your sleep." Topher said, gently easing the muzzle of the gun away from his temples. Max took in a ragged breath and allowed Topher to remove himself from his crosshairs.

"It's not important." Max said, contempt dripping from his words.

"If you ever need to talk to someone, just know that I'm here for you, okay?" said Topher gently.

Confessional

Max: "I don't think anyone has ever said that to me before."

Topher: "How deep do this kid's issues go? I should talk to Sammy. She'll know what to do."

End Confessional

Jasmine looked suspiciously at Max's and Topher's conversation. Her mind was still being torn apart by that one rogue vote against her. She readily and hearty accepted the fact that she was paranoid. Just then, an AirSoft pellet flew right past Jasmine's head and embedded itself in the wall of the Cabana.

"Oh, boy, they're here!" shouted Scarlett excitedly. Then, the realization that Scarlett didn't have a weapon seemed to hit her like a truck. She yelped, scrambled to grab Hennessy and dove inside the Cabana to take shelter.

Jasmine took her minigun and fired indiscriminately at the direction the lone bullet came from. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like any of them it their mark.

A second bullet was fired from the forest and tagged Rodney on the arm.

"Tough luck Rodney, but you're out of the game!" Chris announced over the loudspeaker.

Rodney stamped his foot, sending sand flying around, tossed his ass sign inside the Cabana for Scarlett to use it.

"These are the snipers" Max said calmly. Great range, but not a great firing rate. If we all-" Max was cut off by a piece of Tupperware hitting them in the back of the head.

"What the-" Chris' voice came over the loudspeaker. Everyone heard the clackity-clack of Chris typing something into a keyboard at a painfully slow rate. "Alright, sorry Max, Leonard got you somehow."

Leonard revealed himself from behind a bush. Mercilessly, as soon as she saw him, Jasmine riddled his body with AirSoft pellets. Leonard collapsed, his form riddled with red marks. He groaned.

Chris got back on the P.A. system "Yeah, Dr. Arran, we're gonna need a clean up on aisle Leonard."

Jasmine's homicidal, animal like instincts subsided as soon as they arose. Her look of aggression quickly morphed into one of terror and remorse. "Oh, no, you poor thing!" She yelped as she ran towards Leonard to make sure he was okay. He was bleeding on one cheek and his glasses were all but destroyed. Jasmine lifted Leonard off the ground bridal style and ran down to the beach, and gently lowered him in the water.

Sammy looked at Topher with a sullen expression on her face "She's losing it."

Topher gently put an arm around Sammy and patted her shoulder "I know she's your friend and all, but…" The impressionist didn't finish his sentence. Sammy nodded.

"I feel like I just got a shot. Everywhere." moaned Leonard.

The two snipers also picked off Jasmine while she was helping Leonard. Jasmine didn't seem to care much, even when Chris announced her elimination.

"Topher, this plan isn't working." said Sammy. "We just lost our heavy artillery. I don't think we can do this."

Topher recalled one of his favorite movies, Braveheart and said "Run and you'll live - at least a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!"

Ella answered the inspiring speech by putting a pellet in Topher's forehead.

Sammy immediately threw her hands up "We surrender!"


	7. Strongest Muscle

Rodney's Angels

"I'm so sorry guys" said Sammy meekly.

Topher gave Sammy a hug and placed a protective arm around her. "There was no way we could win with the people we had left."

"You should've kept fighting. We still had a chance." spat Max disappointedly. For someone so small, Topher still found that Max was genuinely intimidating.

"We were outmatched. And Scarlett even forgot to grab a weapon in the first place." retorted Topher.

"Yeah!" supplemented Scarlett enthusiastically.

Confessional

Max: "I'm frustrated we lost in such a pathetic way," Max paused to blink back tears "But now I have to campaign against Jasmine. A girl who is deep down very sweet and has never personally wronged me...I hate this game."

Sammy: "I got scared, okay? Amy isn't exactly a warm and fuzzy person but she made me feel strong by constantly proving her wrong. And now that she's been gone for almost a week…"

End Confessional

"We were screwed from the start, partner" said Rodney comfortingly. "I love you guys and I don't want to say goodbye to anyone tonight.

"We love you, too." gushed Scarlett and Jasmine.

Topher looked at Sammy inquisitively. Sammy shrugged, apparently also a little confused as to why she wasn't under Rodney's little love spell.

Rodney's Angels gradually left the Cabana and wandered into the forest. Max and Scarlett remained at the very edge of the forest, where the dirt of the wilderness and the sand of the shoreline mixed underneath their feet, and the fir and birchs of the woodlands and the palms of the sand intermingled.

"I don't want to see anyone leave tonight," said Max earnestly.

"Well, you can just close your eyes." admonished Scarlett.

Max looked at Scarlett in disbelief, then shook his head and sat down in the sandy dirt (or dirty sand). He tried focusing on the waves and forgetting everything else about the game. The only things that mattered right now were the waves, making sure he and Scarlett weren't eliminated and making sure Topher didn't let Hennessy starve to death. Max nearly did a physical double-take. Since when did keeping Scarlett on the island land so high on his list of priorities?

"Can you keep a secret?" asked Max.

Scarlett thought long and hard before answering "Uhhhh, probably."

Max chuckled to himself "Who am I kidding? You won't remember I said any of this in an hour."

Scarlett sat down beside him and also looked at the water. Eventually, her eyes glazed over, hypnotized by the explosive sound of the ocean waves crashing against the compacted, wet sand.

"I don't want to be the bad guy." admitted Max. Scarlett continued staring out to sea, which meant that Max felt safe enough to continue, "I've never felt like I was enough for my father. Y'know, Gruosi Hoover. Huge drug kingpin. Sometimes goes by The Earl. Whatever. Dad, err, Gruosi always was priming me so that I could take over his empire. Become the next Earl."

Scarlett nodded sympathetically "But you don't want that. You'd rather be a hairstylist."

Max was taken aback at Scarlett's sudden interest in what he was saying. He was also shocked that she actually knew what his secret career was.

"How did you know?" asked Max.

"It was when you mentioned wanting to dye purple. That idea very clearly made you happy, Maxie."

"Damn, Red, I didn't know you had those sort of observation skills."

"Who's Gabarra?" asked Scarlett cautiously.

Max sighed "Have you been talking with Topher?"

Scarlett nodded timidly. Max sighed "Gabarra is sort of a scapegoat my family invented. A thing to blame when something went wrong. 'Where'd your socks go?' ````Oh, Gabarra took them'"

Scarlett nodded, trying to wrap her mind around such a concept. "So Gabarra's like a boogeyman?"

Max shuddered and swallowed nervously "Man is not a word I'd use to describe him."

Scarlett opened her mouth and kept it agape for a few seconds, as if debating what question she should ask next. Apparently, she couldn't decide, because after twenty seconds, she closed her mouth. She tentatively put a protective arm around Max's shoulders and pulled him a little closer to her.

"You're a good friend." Max said "I'm sorry I've taken you for granted for two and a half weeks."

Scarlett smiled warmly "Has it already been two and a half weeks?"

Max shrugged "Something like that." He chuckled, "I've lost track of the days."

Confessional

Max: "If Scarlett is the biggest idiot on the island and also the only genuine friend I've made so far, does that say a lot about me or her?"

Scarlett: "Ewwwww, there's sand in my hair!"

End Confessional

Sammy and Topher were exploring deep into the woods. They didn't have a particular destination in mind, but in the back of both of their minds, they both subconsciously wanted to find the Fugitive's cavern. An overarching conversation point among Rodney's Angels was where the hideout of their opponent's was.

"I don't want to go." Pleaded Sammy "I just escaped Amy's apathy, I don't want to deal with that crap again."

"You don't need to campaign to me." chided Topher "I'm not going to vote for you."

Sammy's eyebrows went up in surprise "Oh..you're not?"

Topher shrugged "It's Jasmine that needs to go. She's been shaking down everyone for almost a week. I don't feel safe around her anymore."

Sammy sighed "I can't shake the feeling that Max hates me because I surrendered."

Topher gawkily ran a hand through his hair. Obviously, like the other contestants, Topher signed up to win a million dollars and use that to try to form a reality show of his own. However, his first priority was slowly but surely becoming Sammy's bulwark. Dreams of the Ridonculous Race were slowly disappearing, being replaced by fantasies and daydreams of Topher donning a suit of armor and waging war against Sammy's demons.

"I think, deep down, Max knows he would've done the same thing."

"But he'll never show it." objected Sammy. Her body language deflated into a very defeated posture.

"We have to campaign against Jasmine." said Topher reluctantly. "We can sway Rodney and that's a tie."

"What happens when the vote ties?"

"If I were Chris, I'd probably make the other team debate and use them to cast the last vote."

Confessional

Chris: "I was actually just planning just planning to kick Jasmine and Sammy off, but we get more drama if we involve the two teams in each other's shit. Topher will make a promising host."

End Confessional

"Should we campaign to the Fugitives?" asked Sammy.

Topher looked in the general direction of their grotto. "That might be our best play."

The Fugitives

Leonard looked around gratefully at the Fugitives. Not only was he appreciative that he didn't have to deal with the strict regulations of Hogwarts, here, he was not an outcast. Not only did Leonard have the misfortune of being a Ravenclaw, the least populous house in Hogwarts, he was also one of the few black students there, which did not make him popular in the Slytherin crowd.

Ella's dreamy, somewhat lethargic voice cut through Leonard's gratified train of thought. "Did you guys know that the tongue is, pound for pound, the strongest muscle in your body."

Beardo raised an incredulous eyebrow but said nothing.

Ella say Beardo's unconvinced expression and repeated "Your tongue is the strongest muscle in your body" Ella paused "Other than your heart."

Beardo nodded, satisfied by Ella's correction.

"What about my penis?" asked Dave. Sky perked up from her corner of the cavern when she heard Dave say 'penis'.

Ella briefly considered Dave's statement before shaking her head "Eh, not really."

Now it was Leonard's turn to furrowed his brows " How do you know that? You don't even have a penis."

"The genius has a point" Sky pointed out.

Ella spoke daintily, as is afraid of making Dave upset "What Dave is talking about is the muscle underneath the penis."

A toothy, dopey grin slowly spread across Dave's face "Oh, yeah, the keggle. I bet my keggle is stronger than my tongue."

Ella's eyes lit up, as if she was just given an opportunity to talk about something she had been thinking about for three or four days prior. "The only what to find that out is to have someone put his tongue and have them push up with their tongue while you push down with your keggle.'

"This conversation is heading in a very weird direction" said Shawn apprehensively.

Topher and Sammy cautiously walked into the Fugitive's cavern, expecting the opposing team to be talking trash on them. This jovial, lewd consultation wasn't what they expected at all.

"Hey, dudes." welcomed Shawn "I didn't realize we were getting a visit from the cool kids today."

"Wait, we're the cool kids?" asked Sammy. In response, Beardo nodded.

Topher stroked his chin thoughtfully "I've never been the cool kid before."

Dave spread his arms to signify encompassing the whole of the cavern "Welcome to the club."

The Fugitive's cavern was more luxurious that Topher and Sammy expected it to be. All in all, the cavern wasn't that deep. Even though the sun was setting and it was becoming a little more difficult to see, the duo could see the far end of the cave. The ground itself was mossy, which acted like a natural carpet. There were small holes in the walls of the cavern which each of the Fugitives have started to use as cubby holes to store personal belongings and little chotskies that they collected along their adventures, including the bear with the parachute that Dave found when the airship. Ella had named the bear Nassak.

The cavern had a pool of groundwater in the back, which Dave warned that was actually full of bacteria and not safe to drink.

"So, this keggle business." Topher slowly walked deeper into the cavern and leaned against the cool, rigid wall. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "So, it's like an arm wrestling match, but it's a penis tongue wrestling thing."

"What are you doing?" whispered Sammy harshly.

"Follow my lead." Topher whispered back.

"It's the newest extreme sport" said Sammy robotically. "Instead of whtewater rafting, it's just someone pushing down against a penis."

"Also, if he cums, you lose." Dave paused then corrected himself "Wait, he loses."

"So, wait-" started Topher

Sammy cut him off "I'm pretty sure everyone is the winner in that situation."

Topher looked at Sammy, thoroughly impressed.

"So the tongue guy is trying to make the penis guy splooge?" asked Leonard.

Ella shook her head, aghast Leonard would ask such a stupid question "No."

Leonard leaned forward and clasped his hands between his thighs, still flummoxed.

"Nobody is actively trying not to cum, but if you do you lose." Elaborated Dave. Leonard, apparently satisfied with that explanation, leaned backward again and visibly relaxed.

"You know how steroids have ruined baseball? What if a competitor jerked off right before his match?" asked Sammy.

"I'm not sure why you prefaced that with a baseball analogy but go off" snarked Sky.

"Oh, a prejerk is not fair." said Dave

"Besides, have you ever had a flaccid penis in your mouth?" asked Ella "It's one of the most disgusting and confusing experiences a person can have?"

"Not to mention it's insulting." supplemented Sammy "Like, I'm all done up and my strap on is on but you can't get your actual working penis up and running."

Topher looked at Beardo and Dave "Do you guys want to check with Hatchet and see if he needs any help with tonight's pasta?"

Dave blinked a few times and then walked in a drone-like fashion outside of the cavern. Topher and Beardo followed him out.

"Well, that was interesting," said Leonard. Shawn stretched out and laid on the cold cavern floor like a cat.

"What's an Angel doing here?" asked Sky accusingly, staring directly at Sammy.

"I just wanted to talk," said Sammy "Things get boring over there sometimes."

Ella absentmindedly tossed a small rock up and down. "It's Jasmine, isn't it?"

Sammy was at a crossroads. The angel on her shoulder wanted her to say that Jasmine was a wonderful person because she helped her get past Amy's elimination. The devil on her shoulder wanted to throw Jasmine under the bus.

"Yeah, she and Rodney are flirting too much" Sammy said cooly.

"Dude, Rodney." said Ella. "You're lucky you sleep in the same room as him."

Sammy chuckled "Yeah, I get that. I don't think he's that hot." The cavern, Shawn and Leonard included, exploded in objection. Sammy raised her hands in surrender "It's not like he's ugly or anything, just not my type."

Confessional

Sammy: "See, Rodney reminds me of Gerson back home. He's so pretty that there has to be something wrong with him."

Sky: "So, I think Ella might have a thing for Rodney. I don't blame her. He's strong, self-sufficient and apparently he's a pretty good cook. He's just so boring. I'd rather have Dave than Rodney. I'm gonna pull a Patrick Star; I'm gonna take Ella's interest and push it somewhere else."

End Confessional

That Evening

Rodney's Angels walked to the fire pit with a general mood of shame. Jasmine looked shifty while Sammy looked absolutely beyond herself with fear.

Oddly enough, Max was also rather pale.

"Rodney's Angels!" welcomed Chris "For the second week in a row, welcome to the elimination ceremony. In a moment, you guys are going to go to the Confessional and cast your votes to exile. The person with the most votes will not receive a marshmallow of safety, and have to take a ride with Chef."

The Votes

Scarlett: "I feel bad for all the pressure Sammy was under, but she has to go before she does that again."

Max: "I can't stand what I'm doing to Jasmine. This isn't a vote to exile as much as it is a mercy kill."

Rodney: "Jasmine's gotta go. As much as I find her attractive, she's a detriment to the team."

Topher: "Max has been rubbing me the wrong way pretty much all week."

Sammy: "Jasmine, I'm so sorry."

Jasmine: "I'm voting for Sammy. She never struck me as a coward."

End Votes

Chris rewatched the votes, feeling immense pity for Jasmine, especially thinking that he would actually respond similarly if there was a rogue vote thrown his way. "Congratulations to: Topher, Scarlett and Rodney for not getting any votes this week." said Chris, tossing a marshmallow to each of the spared contestants. Each of the Angels went back to their shack, Scarlett talking excitedly about Hennessy.

Sammy looked defeated, Jasmine looked livid and Max looked terrified. "Max, only one person voted for you, so you're safe." Max nodded, but fumbled the marshmallow when Chris tossed it to him and didn't look anymore relieved.

"With three votes to exile, I'm sorry Jasmine, your time is up." said Chris.

Jasmine's belligerent body language deflated. She halfheartedly threw a rock in the bonfire and went down to the dock. Max hesitated then followed.

Jasmine whirled on him "It was you, wasn't it?"

Max nodded solemnly.

"Why?" Jasmine asked, overcome with sadness.

"I'm sorry, I had to." said Max,

"You keep telling yourself that." said Jasmine gratingly. She took a few steps towards the boat, then winced and looked back to see that Max looked genuinely sad.

"I have to win." Max said to himself. Max slowly backed off the dock and went to rejoin the rest of the teens.

Hatchet gently guided Jasmine on to the Boat of Losers and sighed. He was in for a long night.

On Monster Island

Chef cut through the foliage with his namesake, a hatchet. Monster Island was a terrifying amalgamation of all kinds of plants and trees. Hatchet had been here enough times to know which monsters were dangerous and which ones were not.

Chris had given Hatchet orders to bring creatures from Monster Island over to Pahkitew Island to make the show a little more interesting. Initially, Hatchet declined, but then he let Dave and Topher help out with the chicken alfredo, resulting in a culinary disaster that would put Hatchet's noble cooking linage to shame. If Dave was eaten alive by a marsupial lion, Hatchet would not necessarily be disappointed.

Out from a murky swamp swam Castor, the monster Hatchet was looking for. Out of all the creatures on Monster Island, Castor was average sized, slightly larger than a grizzly bear. Other than the ursine size, Castor resembled a beaver more than anything else. His feet were the size of backpacks and his large, flat beaver tail would easily cover the windshield of an eighteen wheeler.

"It's time." Hatchet said simply.

Castor thumped his tail on the ground and bellowed, shaking the treetops and sending the smaller monsters in a panic.


	8. Varan the Unbelievable

Chris looked at Hatchet incredulously. "When I asked for a giant monster, this wasn't what I expected." He quipped.

Castor sniffed around the kitchen and devoured a poor rat that wasn't fast enough to escape it. "He'll serve his purpose." said Hatchet.

Chris shrugged. Hatchet had proved his capability when he shot Dakota with his Meat Zooka. Whatever his plans were with the prehistoric beaver, Chris trusted his long time partner.

"Wake the kids up."

"C'mon, Hatchet, they just had the elimination ceremony yesterday." Chris pleaded "It's too soon."

Hatchet sighed. "You've gone soft. What happened to the Chris that tortured Lightning when he cheated? To the Chris that hit Eva over the head with Gwen's guitar?" Chris flinched at the mention of his wrongdoings in the past. "Chef…"

"Wake them kids up. I didn't bring a half-ton beaver here for him to wait four days."

Chris sighed in defeat and pulled his walkie-talkie out of his pocket. "Good morning campers, your challenge is a little early this week. Your task is to capture a giant beaver. Since there's only one, the team that does not capture the giant beaver loses."

Rodney's Angels

"Did I hear that correctly?" asked Rodney "A giant beaver?"

"The largest beavers are about the size of dogs. This shouldn't be too hard." said Sammy "There's a dam by my house."

"I saw a net by the junkpile. Sammy, Scarlett, you scout for the beaver. Topher, Rodney and I will get the net and try to nab this thing." ordered Max, taking charge.

Confessional

Max: "I have a pretty good feeling that Jasmine was the one vote against me, so I'm not too worried. What I am worried about is that beaver."

Sammy: "Max thinks a net is going to snag this beaver? Oh, no. That's boring. I have a better idea."

End Confessional

"Do you know what beavers eat?" asked Sammy, redirecting Scarlett away from the junk pile towards the forest.

"I have no idea." said Scarlett.

Sammy groaned "Of course you don't."

"Do you have a plan?" asked Scarlett.

"No; I'll improvise. I've always been the creative twin." said Sammy proudly.

Then they saw Castor lumber through a clearing. Already, several small birds were circling over Castor's head, feeding on the leftover berries that were dribbling out of Castor's mouth.

"Oh my God.." muttered Sammy.

"Holy shit, run!" screamed Scarlett.

Castor perked up when he heard Scarlett scream and immediately started to rumble loud enough to spook off the birds. Sammy placed a comforting hand on Scarlett's shoulder. Sammy felt Scarlett shake like a leaf. "Shhh, it's okay" Sammy said in the most soothing tone she could manage.

Castor slowly treaded towards the duo, uncertain of what to expect. "Hi, I'm Sammy." Sammy said brightly. Castor roared, a terrible, rolling sound that sounded like screeching and rumbling all at once. Sammy and Scarlett screamed and ran, with Castor galloping hot on their heels.

Rodney saw the girls running from the forest and intuitively grabbed his ass sign. Rodney and Castor charged towards each other. Rodney attempted to smack Castor on the forehead, but the momentum behind the oversized rodent was too great. The force behind Castor easily bent the ass sign at a 90 degree angle. The prehistoric beaver rammed Rodney and flung him aside as if he was paper. Rodney crashed into the Cabana and the makeshift shack collapsed on top of him.

"HENNESSY!" yelped Topher, sprinting towards the ruins of the Cabana to recover the ruby shelled turtle. Castor surveyed the destruction he caused. Apparently satisfied, Castor lumbered slowly back into the forest.

"We have to go after him." said Max "He's heading towards the Fugitive's cave."

"Are you crazy?" spat Topher, throwing aside a sheet of aluminum "Hennessy and Rodney are still down here! What's the point of being safe from elimination if we aren't safe at all!"

Max took a few steps to go after Castor, but his concern for Rodney and the turtle overruled his need for victory and revenge. "Motherfucker." he mumbled to himself.

Topher threw another sheet of metal aside to reveal Rodney. The hulking farm boy was knocked out cold. Two giant bruises enveloped his right eye and left cheekbone. His nose was gushing blood. "Scarlett, get a first aid kit from Chris." said Sammy urgently.

Sammy's blood ran cold. Granted, she was never sexually attracted to Rodney, but he was strong, somewhat intelligent and very capable. Not to mention, he was a really nice guy. He didn't deserve to get absolutely walloped by an overgrown rat with a weird tail.

"I know I said this before, but I need to go after that beaver." said Max, his tone of imperativeness now different than before "The Fugitives have no idea what they're up against. They're in serious trouble."

Sammy nodded "Go warn them. Don't take on the beaver alone."

The Fugitives

"Holy shit, what was that sound?" asked Shawn in a panic.

Ella and Sky were both perched high up in the canopy of treetops, each wielding their sniper rifles and using them as telescopes. "Oh, my God. It's huge" breathed Sky.

"What as that?" asked Shawn, hanging off a lower branch of Sky's tree.

"It's huge!" shouted Sky "The size of a badger at least, if not larger!" Shawn absorbed the information and relayed it to Leonard, Dave and Beardo who were patrolling near the grotto.

"One helluva morning." Shawn muttered to himself.

Confessional

Dave: "I've never been a huge fan of rodents, but maybe I'll like beavers. With their big, nasty incisors. And waffle tails. And amphibiousness...oh, boy."

Leonard: "Out of all the days I'm likely to reveal my magic, today is the most likely day. But it was supposed to be a giant lizard I had to fight, not a giant beaver. So I'm pretty sure I'm safe."

End Confessional

Leonard crept around in the underbrush about half a mile away from the Fugitive's cavern. He tried reaching out to sense anything out of the ordinary nearby, but his mystical diagnostic had turned up empty. This giant beaver apparently had the same lifeforce signature as a regular beaver, which was frustrating. It also meant that his giant beaver was a scientific anomaly and not magic in any way.

Leonard groaned. While he was well versed in magic animals, non magic animals were always something of a stump for him. The wizard reached out again and tried to detect any beavers in general. There was a colony in a freshwater stream a kilometer to the east, and a lone one moving relatively quickly through the dense forest that shrouded the Fugitive's cavern.

"Oh, no." muttered Leonard. He Apparated right behind Castor, who heard the cracking sound of Leonard breaking the space continuum. Castor was colossal, much more substantial than Leonard expected or Sky reported. The fur on Castor's forehead was matted and stained red. Judging from the slow, lackadaisical way Castor was walking, the blood was not his own. Castor had fought something else large and won, Leonard gathered.

Castor looked at Leonard curiously, before turning back around sniffing the ground, foraging for berries or roots.

Leonard Apparated again to the back of the cavern and emerged from it as if he had been cowering in there the entire time. He quickly realized that his plan wouldn't make any sense if any of his teammates thought about it for more than five seconds, "The beaver is huge!" he yelled "We need to be more coordinated than this to take it down."

Shawn nodded grimly and yelled up at Sky and Ella to come down.

"What about Dave and Beardo?" yelled Ella as she started to expertly jump down her tree.

"They're out of the beaver's warpath." informed Leonard.

"How do you know that?" asked Sky.

"Doesn't matter." said Leonard coolly "That thing is the size of a bear, and our BB guns are not going to put that thing down. Not even for a nap."

Sky looked at Leonard with a newfound respect "So what do we do?"

"The only place we can trap something like that is our cave." said Shawn.

"Fuck, I had just gotten used to sleeping there." snarked Sky.

Leonard spread his arms hopelessly "Or we lose the challenge."

Sky sighed "Ella and Shawn, you two get all of our shit out of the cave. Leonard, what are we doing?"

Leonard looked at the two trees that Sky and Ella were perched in, "We're becoming lumberjacks."

Hatchet's Kitchen

"Hatchet, what is that?" asked Chris. He was pointing at one of the ample camera feeds that were supplied by the no less than one hundred and thirty-seven cameras situated throughout Pahkitew Island. However, Chris wasn't worried about that. Chris was worried about a creature that had galumphed into view of camera seventy-two.

Hatchet chuckled "Oh, I hoped that would happen."

"Hatchet, what is that?"

"Mutated Komodo dragon, one of the animals affected by the nuclear waste Cameron created last season."

Chris shuddered "Don't mention that name."

"Her name is Varan." Hatchet continued. "The lizard queen. And Castor just woke her up."

Chris shoved the much larger man. "Are you out of your goddamn mind?!" Chris started to reach for his walkie-talkie before Hatchet grabbed his arm and pinned it against the wall.

"Dave messed with my pasta. That imbecile will be eliminated."

"Assuming Varan doesn't kill us all, you're fired." hissed Chris.

Hatchet uneasily let Chris go, and together, they watched Varan crawl out of frame.

The Lagoon

Max's master plan of making a grandiose final stand against Castor with the Fugitives in their cave hit a snag when he remembered that he had no idea where their hideout was other than the general idea of north. The only reason he even knew that the Fugitive's even used a cave has their headquarters was because he overheard a conversation between Topher and Sammy about it.

"Hello?" called Max. The forest didn't have any response other than the sound of running water and various animalistic sounds.

Max sighed. He figured that getting lost in the woods was karmic retribution for driving Jasmine insane. Granted, if she was driven mad by one janky vote, it probably was inevitable. But that doesn't Max had to be the one to do it. Max's basic instincts told him to go to the aquatic sounds, so he did. He moved quickly, afraid of being spotted by any other oversized superpredators.

He jogged towards the sounds of splishing and splashing and upon a watering hole. Hunched over the water, searching around a dam was Beardo. Goosebumps of relief washed over Max. "Hey, man!"

Beardo leaned up from the lake and scowled. He crossed his arms, and the muscles on his forearm rippled. Max subconsciously took a few steps back. "What do you want?" Beardo asked sternly.

"Dude, the giant beaver is the size of a bear. Rodney's hurt." Max explained hurriedly "We need everyone we can get to take this thing down."

Beardo scoffed "And I'm supposed to believe the trickster from the other team?" Max shrugged "If you don't believe me then don't. But your team will know that I tried to get-"

The pond exploded with the emergence of Varan. Varan was a giant, scaly mass of dark green. Despite being a lizard, she and Beardo were at about each other's eye level. Varan's teeth were the size of deodorant bars and her head was double the size of a watermelon. She was about twenty feet long from snout to tail, half the length of a city bus.

Varan hissed deafeningly and looked at Beardo eagerly. Max looked at Beardo with a smug smirk "Now do you believe me?"

Beardo, pale and at a loss for words, sprinted towards Max, picked him up, and flung him over his shoulder like he was a sack of carrots. "Where is everyone" he gasped.

"Probably at your cave." said Max.

Beardo looked behind him and saw Varan slowly advancing. Beardo adjusted Max and ran as fast as his rigid calves could carry him. Varan growled, her vocal cords powerful enough to shake the ground and gave chase. "How the fuck do you stop something like that?" asked Beardo in a panic.

"I don't know." said Max, frustrated he didn't have an answer.

Varan was gaining on them. "Is this the end?"

asked Beardo. "Mom's already lost one child." grumbled Max "She can't lose another one."

Beardo raised an eyebrow "If we get out of this, you and I need to talk."

The larger boy crashed through an especially dense grove of trees the size of skyscrapers and they found the cavern just beyond that. The Fugitives looked at the twosome, bewildered.

The Fugitives

Right after Beardo and Max arrived, everyone heard giant footsteps punctuated with the sound of dead leaves and twigs being crushed and snapped. "What is that?" asked Shawn nervously.

Hatchet's voice reverberated through the P.A. system "Meet Varan!"

"Oh, great. It has a name." said Ella dryly.

"She." corrected Hatchet.

The trees were too close together for Varan to break through instantly. Varan looked at each of the trees and saw that Ella's Perch was the thinnest tree she could slice through. She reared back on her haunches and started cutting through it at an alarmingly successful rate.

Leonard dug into his back pocket and pulled out a stick and gazed at it despondently. "There's no point of making normal friends if they're all going to get killed." he said to himself.

Leonard looked around at his friends gingerly, knowing that this was the last time he was going to see them in a long time. He saw Sky, fists up, ready to give Varan the fight of her life. He saw Ella, holding her sniper rifle to aim right at Varan's eye. He saw Beardo, who apparently had picked up Max along the way, picking up a sharpened stick and leveling it like a javelin. He saw Dave, who apparently had arrived late, giving Ella a kiss on the forehead and whispering in her ear. Leonard gave himself a dry smile. "I'll miss you guys." He said softly.

" _Stupefy_ " yelled Leonard. A flash of red light was lobbed from his wand and hit Varan in the forehead. Varan squealed and collapsed. The Fugitives and Max stared in absolute shock and unsettlement. Leonard flinched and turned away.

Dave took a few steps toward Leonard and enveloped him in a hug. Ella and Shawn latched on after that. Then everyone was laughing and crying in a group hug with Leonard in the middle. He had revealed himself to the world, but he didn't care. His friends were safe, and Varan was defeated.

"I'm sorry guys, the beaver really messed up Rodney. I have to go check on him." said Max.

"We get it." said Dave. "What happened to that beaver anyways?"

Varan stirred and shakily got to her feet. All the Fugitives quickly leveled their weapons at her. Varan gazed at the Fugitives, snorted, and lumbered away.

That Evening

Chris waited until Hatchet used the restroom and then called Animal Control on Castor and Varan. The fleet of officers captured Castor after a few broken ribs and one medium sized bite wound. However, Varan was nowhere to be found, likely slipping into the ocean before Animal Control arrived. The contestants had an uneasy feeling Varan would return, regardless of whether Hatchet or Chris wanted her to return or not.

Several Hogwarts officials come onto the island. After brief negotiations, Chris agreed that Leonard should return to Hogwarts, in Scotland. In his point of view, even though Leonard had a heart of gold, having magic was unbalanced.

The episode including Varan and Castor would not be aired.

Down on the dock, Leonard said his goodbyes. "Hey man, I'm not sure how you pulled that back there, but it was totally killer." said Shawn "See you around, man."

Leonard embraced his naive friend and moved on to Beardo. Beardo simply gave Leonard a watery smile.

Dave and Leonard shook hands "How much of Harry Potter is real?" he asked.

"His real name is Harrison Mikolajczyk. Rowling rebranded him. Other than that, pretty much everything...except Hermione."

Ella chuckled "Hermione isn't real. Damn, you really do learn something new every day." she said.

Leonard regarded Sky warily as he boarded a magic sailboat owned by one of the Professors at Hogwarts. As the boat pulled away, Leonard's friends all waved goodbye. "Did you give them the Forgetfulness Potion?" asked Professor Mikolajcyzk.

"Yep." Leonard said coolly.


	9. Heaven

Pahkitew Island was still extremely jarred after Varan's sudden appearance. Not to mention, the equally sudden disappearance.

Max couldn't get himself to stop shaking even a full twenty-four hours after Leonard stunned Varan. Leonard was the only reason Varan didn't slaughter everyone on the island is because Leonard protected them. And now Leonard was gone. The entire camp was vulnerable to another attack if Varan decided to come back.

Confessional

Max: "I'm about to go off a little bit of a tangent here, so feel free to edit some of this shit out. My father, Gruosi Hoover, is something of an illegitimate businessman. He does some pretty shitty things."

"Eventually, Pops started to feel guilty about the things he was doing. He started seeing something. At the start is was just a hallucination of a frog, but it gradually became larger and more grotesque. We gave it a name. Gabarra. It's a Telugian word meaning terror and confusion."

"After a few years, Pops lost his mind. He saw Gabarra wherever he went. Eventually he sealed himself in one of those weird sensory deprivation tanks. When Gabarra could no longer torture my father, he latched onto me. I started seeing him when I voted against Jasmine."

End Confessional

The Cabana was reconstructed as well as Max and Sammy could manage but it was still a little shaky. Rodney had done most of the heavy lifting the first time it was built, but he had been airlifted off Pahkitew Island so a doctor could assess his injuries. Max guessed that he hadn't seen the last of Rodney.

Much to the team's relief, Hennessy was discovered beneath the wreckage of the Cabana. As soon as Hennessy saw Castor, he retreated into his shell. When the shelter collapsed on him, he barely felt it.

Two days after Mikolajcyzk picked up Leonard and brought him home, Max had a nightmare about Gabarra and woke up unpleasantly early. The fog hovering over Pahkitew was still soupy and thick. Max probably had about twelve feet of visibility.

Topher walked up beside Max and also wriggled his toes in the cool ocean water.

"Thursday sure was something." said Topher, trying to reel in a conversation with Max. Topher didn't trust Max as far as he could throw him, so any sort of information he could get from the raven-haired trickster would be beneficial.

"Sounds like Leonard couldn't take the pressure" commented Max.

"What happened?" asked Topher "You were with The Fugitives when the Lizard Queen showed up, weren't you?" Topher paused and chuckled to himself "Wow, that is a weird sentence."

Max looked conflicted before saying "Leonard had some sort of anxiety attack and had to leave the competition."

Topher nodded slowly "Did he now?"

Max gave Topher a wicked side eye glare "It's really not your business."

Topher raised his arms in a signal of surrender "Hey, man. I'm just curious."

"Don't be." Max snarled. He folded his hands behind his back and strode out of the water. Right then and there, Max decided Topher was his next target.

What Leonard did took guts. Max couldn't imagine a situation where he would sacrifice his life for anything. Leonard had a certain nobility that Max didn't have. That most people didn't have. The least Max could do is make his exit seem as noble as he possibly could.

Max frowned to himself. In hindsight, he knew he didn't have what it took to make a sacrifice. The only thing Max was willing to give up was he reputation. Even that was diminished. Beardo knew his as the trickster from the other team. Was he really that transparent? Max sighed. Maybe he was losing his touch.

Sharp, grating laughter echoed from deep within the forest. Max, tempted as he was to run back towards the beach, knew that Topher would have difficult questions.

Max tiptoed into the forest apprehensively. The further Max got away from the shoreline, the thicker the fog got.

"Gabarra." said Max drowsily "You're not real."

The grating laughter became louder "Whatever you need to tell yourself." taunted Gabarra.

A hunched over shadow emerged from the fog. It remained well enough away so that Max couldn't make out any details, but it was very clearly inhuman. The arms had neon blue electricity arcing in and out of them.

Max had experienced hallucinations of Gabarra before, but never heard him talk before. "What the hell is your problem?" he yelled.

"What is yours?" asked Gabarra. Gabarra slowly leaned forward, extending his hand. Gabarra's hand was long, green and gnarled, tipped with claws the length of a smartphone. Again, the electricity jumped between his four fingers erratically. "The Hoover family has built themselves on the pain and death of others. I am their retribution. I am the answer to their prayers for justice. If I cannot have your father, then I will take you."

Max was shaking so badly, his knees were almost knocking together. He stumbled away from Gabarra, not caring whether or not how dignified he looked.

"Max?" called Scarlett. Max latched on to the sound of her voice and tried pushing the vision of Gabarra away.

"I'm here!" answered Max.

"You are not worthy of her." thundered Gabarra "You are worthy of nothing!"

Scarlett stumbled into the forest and Max threw his arms around her "Oh, thank God." Scarlett, just as eager to provide support as Max needed it, hugged him back.

Scarlett and Max were afraid to let go of each other. After thirty seconds, the fog dissipated. And so did Gabarra.

"What happened?" asked Scarlett tenderly, finally letting Max go.

"I, uhh, hallucinate sometimes" said Max abashedly.

"Max?"

"Yeah?"

"Whatever the fuck that thing was, I saw it, too."

The Fugitives

Dave stretched and yawned. He had gotten used to being the first person awake in their cavern. So, he always crept out of the cavern soundlessly and clambering on top of it. Normally, he got a good view of the sun rising over the ocean. Unfortunately, since the fog was abnormally heavy this morning, he didn't get a good view.

Dave adjusted his beanie and stared directly into a nearby camera, smirked and walked out of range. Then, he snuck underneath it and popped up.

"Having fun?" teased Ella, who was in the process of traversing the rock face up to the top.

Dave scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "You could say that."

"Do you always wake up this early?" asked Ella "It's like 6:30."

Dave thought on it for a little bit before saying "Pretty much. There's a killer view when there isn't so much fog."

"I'll have to try again then." said Ella suggestively.

Dave smiled "Be my guest." They spent the next few minutes in silence, striking up a game of catch. They substituted the ball for a pebble.

"How's the recovery thing going?" asked Dave

"Dude, this sucks." said Ella, exhausted. "I didn't think it would be this hard. I could smother Sky to death for a cigarette right now."

Dave's eyebrows jumped "Oooo-kayyy"

Sky wave his concern aside "I'm exaggerating." Ella took a beat to gather her thoughts "Do you think there's gonna be anything illegal at the Playa de Losers?"

"Considering that Svetlana brought in steroids and Katie forced Sadie to take heroin, I'm going to assume that the security is pretty lax."

"Fuck." said Ella under her breath. "I don't know if I can handle that sort of temptation"

"If you can handle not smothering Sky, you can handle this. I believe in you" supplied Dave.

"I don't trust Sky." confessed Ella. "When we lose next, you have to promise to vote Sky out."

"I don't trust her either" started Dave "But I also don't trust Beardo. Or Shawn, really."

Ella sat down, letting her legs swing over the entrance of the cavern "Sky has a thing for you, y'know."

"So do you." retorted Dave "You two are not subtle."

"Subtle girls tend not to get what they want." snarked Ella.

Dave laughed "Fair enough. After this whole show thing is over, we should grab a coffee. Pretend like this whole thing didn't happen."

Ella sighed dreamily "God, that sounds like heaven right now."

An odd shiver ran up Dave's spine when he heard Ella's enthusiastic answer. "Alright, it's a date." he said, a little cautious that this was going so well.

"Indeed it is," said Ella.

"Have I ever told you about Kai?" asked Dave, starting to pace around nervously. Ella enjoyed seeing past Dave's facades of insanity. But it also made her apprehensive. Ella wasn't exactly sure where this conversation was headed.

"I don't think so." answered Ella.

"Kai was a girlfriend I had a few years ago. She was very manipulative. Lied about being raped, cheated on, assaulted, abused. I've had trust issues ever since."

"Are you sure she was lying?" asked Ella worriedly. She had seen trust issues tank all kinds of relationships, from professional ones to marriages.

"Yeah, I'm sure. There began to be serious inconsistencies in the stories she told me. It got to the point where the name of the guy who raped her changed every week." Dave sighed "I'm so lucky she was a bad liar."

Ella digested the information silently. Eventually, Dave stopped pacing. "Sorry if I overshared." he said with a watery smile "I knew the risks I was taking."

Ella, in response, got up and threw his arms around him "Not everyone is out to get you."

Dave reciprocated, but started to laugh. "We're on Total Drama. Of course everyone is out to get me."

Ella exhaled heavily "You need to work on using humor as a defense."

"It's always worked before now" whispered Dave. His cool, minty breath sent goosebumps running up and down Ella's spine.

"Not with me." Ella whispered back, her hot breath making Dave squirm.

"Shit man, really?"

Chris' voice rang out over the P.A. system, saving the twosome from getting too hot and heavy. "Good morning campers! Meeting at the firepit in fifteen minutes."

Ella groaned "Biggest cockblock in the world."

Dave quickly pecked Ella's lips and started to climb down the cave. He looked up at Ella and saw a giant smile spread across her face.

"I'm gonna get you back for that!" promised Ella.

"I'm sure you will!"

The Firepit

"Now, we all know what happened yesterday," said Chris "There was a giant lizard that almost killed everyone, and Leonard had to go home because of.." Chris' mind faltered, forgetting the excuse Mikolajcyzk provided "Parental issues."

Upon the news of Leonard's departure was met with confusion within Rodney's Angels and solemn understanding from the Fugitives (and Max).

Topher noticed the dissonance between Max's reaction and the rest of the Angels. He raised an eyebrow at him. Max aggressively waved Topher's curiosity behind. The entire existence of the Wizarding World was not something Max was planning to divulge.

"Now, we're a little ahead of schedule when it comes to kicking off you guys now." informed Chris "So we're going to let the viewers decide which eliminated contestant comes back tomorrow night."

Now the remaining camper had a unanimous, dismayed reaction.

"We have to keep a schedule and Leonard threw it off." said Chris with a shrug "This is the way it has to be. And we can't have a week without an elimination. That's boring."

 **A/N: When Chris said it was up to the viewers as to who returns, he wasn't kidding. You can vote via PM or Review on whether you want Jasmine, Amy or Sugar to return.**


	10. Rodney's Got A Secret

Chris tabulated the votes alone. Camp had become much more empty since the producers terminated Hatchet's employment. Most of Chris was pleased with Hatchet's fate. He deserved jail time, and considering the reaction of the Hoover family, he might get a little more than that.

He dialed the phone number of the manager of the Playa de Losers. "Hey, Sierra."

"Whaddya want?" snarked Sierra.

"Send Jasmine back over. She got the most votes from our viewers" ordered Chris.

"Or else what?" asked Sierra flirtatiously.

Chris sighed and threw up in his mouth a little bit."Just send her over."

Chris heard Sierra blow a bubble of gum and pop it. "Fine."

Rodney's Angels

"I said yesterday that the eliminated contestant that garnered the most support from our viewers would be returning to the island. Thankfully, Sugar got like two votes."

"Rascist asshole." barked Dave. Beardo high fived him in agreement.

"Which leaves Amy and Jasmine." redirected Chris. A yatch pulled up to the Dock of Losers. "One of them is in that boat. Drum roll, please."

Dave, Topher and Ella eagerly smacked their thighs in a drum roll. None of the other contestants participated, though most of them wanted to.

Once Jasmine strode off the yacht, Max nearly shit himself. Other than Scarlett, Jasmine probably knew the most about Max's underhanded tactics. And unlike Scarlett, Jasmine was not in Max's corner.

"Hey, Jasmine.." said Sammy cautiously.

"No hard feelings over the elimination." offered Jasmine "I overreacted. I'm sorry." Sammy's expression was still guarded, but her eyes softened incrementally. Jasmine took that as a good sign.

"Shit, there's a challenge today isn't there?" asked Max rhetorically.

"I can't believe Varan was already a week ago." breathed Rodney to himself.

Rodney had made a full recovery from the injuries Castor inflicted on him. There were yellowing patches on his face and he walked with a slight limp, but otherwise, he was fine. Topher suggested that Chris make the next competition a mental one, just to make sure things were fair

"Wait, who's Varan?" asked Jasmine.

Sammy looked at Max "He's the one that saw it all."

Max gave a pointed glance at Jasmine, as if challenging her to tell the rest of the Angels why she got eliminated. Jasmine placed her hands on her hips and glared back.

"I'll catch you up." said Max, false honey dripping from his words.

"Can't wait." said Jasmine, her words just has sugared.

Max and Jasmine went into the edge of the forest to talk privately. Max got a little shaky knowing that he encountered Gabarra in the same location. There was no way Jasmine knew that, though.

"Didn't expect this wrench in your plan, did you?" crowed Jasmine.

Max shook his head "No, I did not."

"I have the votes to get you out, y'know." gloated Jasmine "Topher and Sammy would vote my way. Even with Scarlett, you're toast."

"Rodney." said Max. He folded his hands behind his back, a tick that festers whenever he's confronted with something. Max knew Jasmine was right about Topher and Sammy. And he wasn't particularly close with Rodney either.

Jasmine's cheeks got reddish.

Max's mouth curled into a cruel sneer "Oh, really?" Jasmine's facial expression became livid. She tried to say something, but her temper got the better of her and she couldn't say anything.

Max sensed his goliath prey was wounded and went for the killing blow "Listen closely. You're right about Sammy and Topher turning against me. But if you even talk to Rodney about me, your secret gets spilled."

Jasmine grunted and shoved past him to get back to the rest of the team.

"Not worthy…" growled the disembodied voice of Gabarra.

"Get out of my head." Max growled back.

"Good morning campers!" shouted Chris genially. "Because Rodney's still recovering from the incident with the beaver, we're doing a mental competition. Come Mount Pahkitew for Truth or Scare!"

Every Angel cautiously regarded each other. Chris always whipped out Truth or Scare whenever he thought drama was coming to a standstill. When the contestants of previous seasons played Truth or Scare, the results were explosive.

"Let's do this!" said Scarlett brightly.

Later that afternoon, Rodney's Angels arrived at the top of the mountain. The mountaintop appeared to be shaved off, replaced with two logs and an oversized screen.

The Fugitives were already seated on the log closer to the entrance. Rodney and his crew slowly walked to the other log.

Chris surveyed his contestants haughtily and giggled to himself. "It's time we separated the brave from the liars."

"So the giant lizard queen wasn't enough to prove that we were brave?" asked Shawn "Aw, man."

Chris blinked a few times. 'Maybe Chef was right. I have gone soft.' he thought to himself. Chris pointed aggressively at Shawn "Shut the fuck up!"

Dave comforted Shawn with a pat on the back. "It's okay. He's just upset."

"Now then, each round, a player will be selected at random on the jumbotron. It will also select if you're doing a truth or a scare. If you see a halo next to your name, that means you have to answer a question truthfully. If you see a flame, that means you have a scare. Let's get this show on the road."

Chris produced a remote from his back pocket, a large, grey contraption that only had one blue button. Chris pressed it, and instantly, Sammy's head appeared next to a halo.

"How will you know if we're telling the truth?" asked Sammy challengingly.

"For that, we spared no expense." bragged Chris.

"It probably cost him like five bucks, tops." Topher whispered into Sammy's ear. Sammy giggled. Chris glared daggers at them, but he went unnoticed.

"Campers, meet Pollux. The counterpart to Castor, the giant beaver that attacked Rodney a few days ago."

Pollux popped out of the ground, and immediately, everyone sighed a collective "Awww…"

Pollux looked identical to the average gopher, with one major difference. On the ridge of its nose sat two wide based horns, giving Pollux the appearance of a small, fluffy rhinoceros.

"Pollux can detect microexpressions with his sharp eyes and detect changes in body temperature and perspiration using his sensitive horns." informed Chris "If you're lying, Pollux will know." Pollux chattered in vehement agreement.

"Answer a question truthfully or complete a challenge successfully, and your team wins a point. Fail to do so, and your team will not get a point and your team as the added bonus of being able to label you a coward and/or a liar." Chris said gleefully.

Sammy gulped. Pollux emerged fully from underground and judged Sammy silently. Sammy got the eerie feeling that Pollux was at least as smart as Amy. Maybe even smarter.

Chris shuffled through his stack of flashcards read one out "Out of all the contestants on the island, who do you dislike the most?"

Pollux chirped a few times. Sammy felt on edge, as if Pollux was staring into her soul and analyzing everything she is.

"Max," said Sammy hesitantly. Pollux nodded, freaking Sammy out even more at how utterly humanoid the rodent's mannerisms were.

"That's the truth!" announced Chris.

Max ran his hand over his face and sighed "I don't really blame you, man."

Jasmine looked at Sammy with a devilish smirk. Sammy slowly met Jasmine's eyes. Jasmine nodded and put a finger to her throat. Sammy nodded vigorously.

Chris pressed the button again. The halo design remained on the screen, but Rodney's face replaced Sammy's.

"Next up we have Rodney, doing another truth." announced Chris, despite the jumbotron clearly displaying that information for all to see. "In your opinion, who do you think is the most attractive girl on the island?"

Scarlett, Jasmine and Sky immediately sat up, their attention now anchored on Rodney. Rodney's eyes fluttered from each of the three nervously. Pollux scuttled over to where Rodney was seated.

Rodney stuttered out an answer quietly.

"What was that?" taunted Chris "I couldn't hear you."

"I'm gay." said Rodney softly.

"What!?" yelled Scarlett.

"Aw, come on." said Jasmine disappointedly.

Pollux nodded, indicating that Rodney was telling the truth.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" asked Shawn "It's 2019, man. It's not like it's a big deal anymore."

"It's a big deal to my dad." said Rodney "He's the mayor of our hometown. If it gets out that Mark Adams has a gay son, he'll never win re-election."

"So you live in _that_ type of small town?" asked Topher sympathetically.

"Yeah…"

Chris dropped his guise has sadistic show host for a moment "Well, we're not airing that on international television. That's not fair to you or your father. That also means, though, that your team doesn't get a point. It won't make sense of the Angels randomly got a point out of nowhere."

Rodney nodded silently, mortified that his secret had finally gotten out.

"You lead me on.." Jasmine said quietly to Rodney.

"I know, and I'm really sorry" said Rodney earnestly. "But if I don't look like a raging heterosexual on tv, my friends are gonna suspect."

"That's a terrible reason." objected Sammy "If your friends are homophobic, maybe you should look into new friends."

Rodney sighed "It's hard, man."

"Well, that was touching, but the moment is over." said Chris "Now I have to be an asshole to you guys again."

"You got it." said Dave, saluting.

Chris pressed the button. Rodney and the halo were replaced by Sky's face a flame.

"Congratulations, Sky. You got the first scare. To tie it up with Rodney's Angels, you must drink an entire jug of…"

An intern that Ella seemed to recognize walked up and slammed down a jug of yellow liquid.

"Lemon-lime Gatorade!"

Confessional

Ella: "Remember a while ago when I mentioned Cullinan?" Yeah, I'm not sure how but now he seems to have replaced Chef Hatchet. And he cleaned up pretty nice, too. I'm proud of him."

End Confessional

The mustachioed intern walked back down the mountain as Sky regarded the jug disgustedly.

"You have thirty seconds."

Sky punched the neck of the jug, widening it, then poured the Gatorade down her throat. It was all gone before the ten second mark.

"Holy shit.." Beardo muttered to himself. Everyone else was too stunned to speak.

"Okay, moving on." said Chris, after seeing that no banter or bickering was going to come of Sky's chugging skills. "The Fugitives get a point." Chris pressed the button again "Alright Max, it's truth time."

Pollux now had his horns trained on Max. "For a point, what do you fear?"

"Gabarra. I fear Gabarra." said Max readily. He felt Scarlett's fingers intertwine with his and give him a reassuring squeeze.

"Who's Gabarra? Is that a movie character?" asked Dave. Max shook his head and refused to answer. Pollux deemed his answer truthful and Chris moved on.

"Next up we have Dave, doing a scare."

"Bring it, McLean." demanded Dave. "Make it a good one."

"Oh, I was gonna make it easy on you." said Chris "But now, for a point, you have to kiss a person next to you."

Dave looked to his right and saw Sky. On his left was Ella. Dave knew that he had done questionable things with both girls. Both Sky and Ella looked at him expectantly, but something ran different about their facial expressions. Ella's sort of expectancy was hopeful. She allowed herself the possibility that she would get turned down. Sky, however, seemed more possessive. Sure, he and Sky shared a tender moment under the stars early on. But in the end, Sky reminded Dave too much of Kai to be a viable option for a relationship.

Dave and Ella faced each other "This was probably the easiest dare of all time, Chris." He said, before Ella closed the distance.

Dave wasn't exactly sure how long the kiss was, and he definitely didn't care. All his focus was on Ella. Ella's lips. Ella's hair. So on, so forth.

By the time Dave tuned back in to the real world, there were chants of "EL-LA!, EL-LA!". To Dave's and Ella's surprise, Sky was just as enthusiastic and happy as the rest of the contestants were.

Confessional

Sky: "Look, Ella won over Dave fair and square. I'm not gonna be a huge bitch about it. Besides, Ella actually seems like a pretty cool chick. I wouldn't mind being her friend."

End Confessional

"I'll be sure to turn the cameras off tonight" quipped Chris as he pressed the now dreaded blue button "Next up is Shawn, doing a scare." Shawn grinned, eager for his chance to prove himself. "For a point, you must pick your nose and wipe it on the person sitting next to you."

Shawn was on the edge of the log, and the only person sitting to his right was Beardo. "Hey, man, I don't want to do that. That's a huge dick move"

Beardo shrugged indifferently.

Shawn turned to Chris to plea "C'mon, man. Give me something at least somewhat polite."

"Sorry, dude. Hands are tied." Chris said apologetically "And you're out of time. That makes the score Rodney's Angels; 2, Fugitives; 2."

The contestants' body language became more urgent. Rodney's Angels sensed weakness in Shawn and wanted to capitalize on it. The Fugitives immediately became guarded and defensive, realizing that they could've taken the lead and became all the more determined to get it.

"Ella, you've been given a truth." said Chris. "If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?"

Pollux bounded up to Ella and curled himself up in her lap. Ella briefly considered lying, but she was still riding the high of tongue wrestling with Dave. Not only that, she was also riding the adrenaline rush of actually _beating_ Dave in tongue wrestling.

"My goddamn nicotine addiction. I was given my first cigarette by a music hustler named Prince Henry. I've been hooked ever since. Going cold turkey by coming here was the best choice I've ever made."

"Can any of you motherfuckers reveal something I can actually put on television?" Chris deadpanned. "She was telling the truth, wasn't she, Pollux?" Pollux nodded "So just like Rodney coming out, we're not going to air that for your own safety. So we're just gonna go to the tiebreaker. Okay? Same rules as you'd expect. Losing team has to eliminate someone."

The contestants nodded hungrily.

"Since Jasmine, Topher, Beardo and Ella never had to do a Truth or Scare, they will be participating in the tiebreaker." said Chris "Now your challenge is to catch Pollux!"

Pollux, prepared for this, immediately uncurled from Ella's lap and slept into the ground and burrowed quickly. Ella, a little too late, tried to clutch Pollux to her chest. However, all she grasped was empty air. Beardo and Jasmine each jumped up from their seats and went for the hole that Pollux had dug. Jasmine shouldered Beardo out of her way.

Topher immediately put his hands up and backed away as Beardo and Jasmine gradually grew more and more physical.

Jasmine swung on Beardo, but the surprisingly agile dancer ducked her punched and rammed his head into her stomach. Jasmine wrapped her legs around Beardo's ribs and started to squeeze.

Confessional

Jasmine: "I've taken jiu jitsu lessons since I was 10 years old. Also provided by Coach Glover"

Beardo: "Dude, I think she broke my ribs"

End Confessional

Pollux popped his head out of the ground to see what the ruckus was, and didn't notice Topher right behind him. The geled up teen grabbed Pollux and lifted him up the ground.

"Rodney's Angels win!" shouted Chris

The Forest, 11:52 pm

"You're afraid" taunted Gabarra. "Everything I represent, the others are beginning to see."

Beardo's voice echoed through Max's head "And I'm supposed to trust the trickster from the other team?"

Sammy's voice poisoned his mind afterwards "Max."

Through the dark of the forest, Gabarra emerged. For the first time without the haze of his nightmares or heavy fog, Max saw the dream demon clearly.

Gabarra's face was already a confusing contradiction. His face appeared to be that of a panther, but his body was covered in small green scales. His eyes glowed red. The unnerving part is that his eyes didn't appear animalistic in nature. When Max looked into Gabarra's eyes, there was someone staring back. Small, tooth like horns decorated Gabarra's forehead in a horizontal line.

Tough, armadillo-esque scales adorned Gabarra's back, arms and upper legs. His arms were much longer than his torso. He could easily walk on two legs or all four. Neon blue bolts of electricity that leapt from his gnarled hands illuminated him in the moonlight.. His legs looked like they belonged on a carnivorous dinosaur. The hulking monster, even slouched, was as tall as Jasmine. If Gabarra stood upright, he would be thirteen feet tall.

"Your friends see you for the malefactor you are." taunted Gabarra.

The voices of Beardo and Sammy grew louder and more hateful. Soon, they were accompanied by Gruosi, admonishing Max for the failure he is.

Max closed his eyes and screamed, trying to drown out the voices in his head. Gabarra leaned forward, astonished and even impressed.

"What are you going to do about it?" asked the monster.

Max opened his eyes. The voices of Sammy, Beardo and Gruosi were silenced. He regarded Gabarra coldly.

"Time to evil." Max snarled. Gabarra, apparently satisfied with this answer, disintegrated into the night. Max had a gut feeling that he would return.


	11. The Blindside

Earlier That Evening

"It has to be Shawn" Dave said somberly. "He's the only one who failed to get a point."

Sky and Ella digested what Dave said with matching skeptical expressions. "He's a nice guy." objected Sky. "Beardo is more a physical threat."

"Beardo is still an asset for us." Ella pointed out.

"He won't be for long. That merge is coming." retorted Sky.

The trio argued on the Dock of Losers, where they couldn't be overheard. Rodney's Angels were tiny specks celebrating their victory with an evening on the beach.

"The merge is when we'll target Beardo, okay?" mitigated Dave "Shawn is dead weight. I do like the guy, though."

"He just doesn't contribute much." added Sky, "Fine, we get rid of Shawn. Then we cut Beardo only if absolutely necessary."

"Deal." said Dave. He shook Sky's hand and kissed Ella's forehead and watched his two girls walk off the dock to go join Rodney's Angels. Dave had called Sky and Ella his girls aloud a grand total of once. Judging from their expressions, that was a mistake.

Dave wandered into the woods aimlessly. He had the geography of the island pretty close to figured out. The more cameras were installed, the further away he was from camp.

He noticed one of the trees was unusually twisted. A discolored scar ran down the side, a lighter brown then the rest of the bark. The wound looked fresh, as some embers were still smouldering off of it.

When Dave was a kid, he used to raid the community center garbage bin for pieces of wood, then create forts in the woods behind the neighborhood. One time, he hit a tree with the clawed side of a hammer. The wound that left looked similar to this one. Just this one was exponentially larger.

He carefully put his hand up against the scar. He worked his fingers inside the scar and tried to feel how deep it was. He could no longer see his first two knuckles by the time the wound got too narrow.

"Hey, Dave?" asked a female voice.

Dave wrenched his hand out of the marred tree, resulting in his fingers getting scratched up all to hell. "Oh, Sammy, you scared the shit out of me."

"That's really weird." said Sammy, ignoring Dave's damaged hand. She got closer to inspect the tree. Her eyebrows scrunched up, and for the first time in Dave's memory, he saw Sammy stand completely still. "It kinda looks like it was struck by lightning." she said.

"It hasn't rained here. At least not during this competition." said Dave.

"And I haven't heard any thunder." added Sammy.

Sammy and Dave looked at each other eagerly and squealed "Mystery!"

Sammy turned towards the beach and waved Ella and Topher over. Topher, like Ella, thought it was caused by a lightning strike. However, the lack of rain and thunder puzzled him as well.

"It's another monster." said Ella immediately. "Castor and Varan showed me that creatures I didn't think exist do." she paused "Is all of Canada like this?"

"Definitely not." said Dave and Topher said at the same time. Sometimes, Dave forgot Ella wasn't even a Canadian citizen. She was an American.

"Well, mooses are kind of scary." argued Sammy.

Topher nodded to himself "Touche."

"Tell you what? Girls go north. Guys go east. We meet back here in half an hour." suggested Dave. The pairings agreed.

The Guys

Dave and Topher didn't know enough about each other to start a real conversation. They discovered this unfortunate fact about thirty seconds into their walk east. The trees gradually became less dense as they walked away from the Cavern and the Cabana.

"Do you smell that?" asked Topher, starting to sniff the air.

"I hardly have a sense of smell. I was really sick for the first few years of my life and never got my sense of smell back."

"I assure you it smells like shit right now." said Topher confidently.

The ground became increasingly more and more squishy. The sounds of crickets chirping was replaced with frogs croaking and ducks quacking. "Call me crazy, but I think we're heading towards a swamp." said Dave.

"Didn't Max say Varan was hiding in a lake?" asked Topher cautiously.

The swamp itself was on the weightier side, probably about the size of a soccer/football pitch. The water was covered with algae. There was a motionless rock in the middle of the swamp, also covered with moss.

Also, it reeked.

"If there's a monster around here, this looks like a primed hideout." said Dave.

Topher picked up a twig and stuck it in the swamp, slowly but surely moving aside the algae. Tadpoles and some weird, freshwater minnows darted away when they were exposed to the sun. Topher grunted "Looks like there isn't anything bigger than my pinkie toe around here."

"Well, yeah." Dave responded, "We're only on the very edge."

Topher looked at the swamp timidly "These are my good jeans."

"Fuck, it, I'll do it." said Dave, taking off his shoes and socks. Topher hurled his stick to Dave, who caught it. He cringed as he slowly stepped into the water. Contrary to the course but firm sand of the ocean nearby, the swamp's bed was smooth and slippery.

Underneath the algae now was a flattened salamander about the length of an acoustic guitar. Dave jumped at the thing's sudden appearance. The salamander felt the shockwaves of Dave's feet leaving the slimy sand an darted away at surprising speed, causing Dave to jump again.

"What's happening over there?" asked Topher worriedly.

"This weird, fucking salamander type thing. It looks like it was ran over by a bulldozer."

"Is it alive?"

"Yeah, it's perfectly fine. I think it was born like that."

Since the flattened salamander was ultimately harmless, Dave decided to forge onwards into the miasma of the swamp. Most of the wildlife he came across was undeterred by his presence, including a peaceful crocodile-sized salamander and a cat-sized lizard with a small head and rounded stomach.

One thing Dave realized is that the swamp was not getting much deeper. He was almost to the center rock and he was only up to his knees.

Suddenly, the rock in the middle of the swamp began to rise. Elephantine legs began to support themselves underneath this new, giant beast.

This thing dwarfed both Varan and Castor significantly. Dave suspected that even if an elephant were here, the beast would make that look small, too. Dave wasn't necessarily the tallest guy on the island. In fact, the only guy he was taller than was Max. But even Rodney wouldn't even come up to this beast's hip.

It looked like a hairless, fleshy horse, dark brown in color. Its neck was disproportionately long, giving it the strange look of a rhinoceros-giraffe hybrid, but it was much larger than both.

"I wonder if Chef had a catchy name for this one, too." deadpanned Dave.

"He did." said Chris over the P.A. "His name is Kameanui. Don't worry, he's an herbivore."

Kameanui listened intently to Chris and munched on some algae, as if to prove his point. Kameanui, while impressive and almost majestic, clearly was not responsible for the scar in the tree. It had tremendous strength, but there was no evidence of supernatural abilities.

"We should probably head back before the ladies get worried." said Dave.

Kameanui bellowed, almost saying goodbye to the duo. Then slowly, the titanic mammal started to walk towards the opposite end of the swamp. Every time Kameanui took a step, he sent up volleys of swamp water and shook the ground slightly.

"How the hell did we not see that earlier? We've been here for almost a month." asked Dave in disbelief.

"Not gonna lie, I kinda thought this entire island is artificial." said Topher, unable to peel his eyes away from where Kameanui was resting, "But this is probably the most natural place I've ever been."

"Hey, Chris, how much information do you have on the wildlife here?" Dave asked, quickly moving out of the swamp. The P.A. system was now frustratingly silent.

The Girls

The girls went north, more invested in conversation than hunting down whatever marred the tree.

"Where'd you grow up?" asked Ella.

"Dawson City, in Yukon." answered Sammy nostalgically "It's a unique place."

Ella hopped over a root that snuck up on her. The sun was going down, meaning that the elimination ceremony was going to happen soon. "Tell me about it."

"It's a tourist spot. There was a Gold Rush in the late nineteenth century that caused Dawson City to explode in population. Nowadays, most people have moved away, but we still keep some of the old Gold Rush-era buildings the way they were then."

Ella tried to imagine a Western city in Canada. Old-timey architecture. No paved roads. People wearing dusters and cowboy hats. Although, it was a Canadian Western town, so there were probably moose and elk all around. And instead of having to worry about coyotes and wolves, there were polar bears.

"That sounds super cool. I'll definitely swing by sometime after the show."

"What about you?" asked Sammy.

"Venice Beach, California."

Sammy chucked "Sometimes, I forget you're American."

"Venice Beach, it's sort of like Snoop Dogg if he was a city. Lots of softcore drugs. Lots of parties. Very little policing. I liked it a lot, but after spending some time here, away from all that bullshit, I don't like it. I need some time to slow down. You feel me?"

Sammy tried to imagine any Amercian city. She thought sometimes that America itself was just one giant bustling metropolis. She supposed that Venice Beach was something like setting of a Fast and the Furious movie.

"We're not gonna get much further." said Sammy "I need to get back to the campfire to kick off Shawn?"

Sammy raised an eyebrow "You're gonna kick off Shawn? Not Sky?"

Ella stopped right in her tracks. "I mean, that would be the first blindside of the season."

Sammy, admitably, was genuinely interested in a friendship with Ella, especially with the threat of The Merge looming over everyone's heads. But Sky had a much better shot at winning the competition than Shawn did. Getting her out now would not only increase Sammy's chance at winning, but her elimination would cripple The Fugitives into losing every challenge until The Merge.

"I'll think about it." said Ella absentmindedly, now obviously weighing the pros and cons of getting Sky eliminated now.

The Campfire

The Fugitives eyed each other suspiciously. Chris looked at them with a smirk on his face "This is the elimination ceremony. In just a moment, you and your fellow Fugitives well cast their votes to exile. The eliminated contestant will have to walk the Dock of Shame and board the Boat of Losers."

Dave and Sky looked at Shawn pitifully.

The Votes

Shawn: "Sky's been hyper competitive since day one. It puts a damper on things."

Dave: "Shawn's gotta go, man. All he had to do was wipe a booger on Beardo."

Sky: "Shawn lost the challenge. I like the guy but he's gotta go."

Beardo: "Sky's gotta go."

Ella: "Let's make some big girl moves. Sky, you should go."

When Chris saw the votes, his eyebrows went up in surprise. "Congratulations to Dave, Ella and Beardo. No one voted for you tonight." Chris tossed marshmallows to the aforementioned contestants. Sky looked a little bewildered, but then she remembered that Shawn also got to vote. Everything about Shawn was resigned. His shoulders are slumped and he sighed heavily. He looked at the Dock of Shame forlornly.

"By a vote of two to three…"

Sky's eyebrows went up. She thought that Shawn would be the only vote against her. She became nervous. She didn't realize she would accumulate more than one vote.

"Sky, pack your things." announced Chris "You've been voted off."

Silence descended on the campfire. Sky's jaw dropped. Shawn stood up in a daze and grabbed his marshmallow of safety.

"What did you do?" asked Dave softly. Then he turned towards Ella and asked more forcefully "What did you do?!"

"I eliminated a threat." said Ella matter-of-factly. "She made an alliance with you and Beardo to get me out. Don't think I forgot that."

"That was, like, a month ago." objected Sky. She flipped Ella the bird and stormed onto the Dock of Shame.

Dave looked at Ella and sighed "I would've voted with you if you trusted me enough to tell me."

Ella looked at Dave "It was a last minute thing, okay?"

Dave scoffed "You still could've told me."

Ella looked at the retreating shape of Sky and felt a pang of regret. But she was gone, and Ella had to move on.


	12. Into The Blue Pt 1

Beardo was shaken by Sky's unceremonious elimination. He woke up early the next morning to extend an olive branch to Rodney's Angels. Dave and Ella, particularly Ella, have proven completely unpredictable. The Merge was likely coming soon, and having friends on the other side is the only defense Beardo could think of.

The wildlife was an interesting topic of conversation that he heard Dave and Ella talk about until the wee hours of the morning. Now that Beardo was paying closer attention to the little lizards scuttling underfoot, he did notice some differences between them and normal lizards. Like spines that jutted out of their back and overall more sluggish movements.

He found the Cabana without much issue. The issue was now waiting for one of the Angels to wake up and to trust him enough to make a secret alliance that would target his own teammates. Beardo scoffed at his own foolhardiness. This was a terrible idea.

He saw Max stumbled through the trees. His normally impeccable hair was now frizzled and messy. His eyes were narrowed and his face was contorted in a permanent scowl, giving off a feeling of grim determination that wasn't present before.

Perfect.

"Hey, Max, what's up?"

Max turned around slowly and sneered at him "What the fuck do you want?"

"An alliance."

Max's expression softened, then became sinister "Dave and Ella scare you, don't they?" Beardo became uncomfortable with how easily Max saw right through him. His body became deathly still, like it always did when he became nervous. Max saw this and continued to press on "The couples are gonna run the game, and you're afraid that you're next."

"Yes."

Max mulled over the thought in his mind "If you can convince Jasmine and Sammy to vote off Rodney next time we lose, then we'll have a deal."

Beardo mentally stored away the fact that Max was targeting Rodney and nodded.

Max stuck out his hand and grinned maniacally "Pleasure doing business with you, Beardo." Beardo unenthusiastically shook Max's hand.

Beardo couldn't help but feel like he had just compromised all his morals. He knew Max was a manipulative snake. He wasn't entirely sure he would be able to weaponize Max's venom, but he knew he had to try.

Six Days Later

The contestants were woken up when a low quality sound of water crashing echoed over the P.A system.

"Good morning campers! Grab your swimming gear, we're going to Pahkitew Bay!" announced Chris.

Rodney sighed, having forgotten his swimming trunks at home. He noticed Sammy jumping with excitement.

"I've never liked swimming." muttered Jasmine.

"Me neither." added Rodney. Jasmine glared at him. Rodney sighed. He felt bad for flirting with her knowing that he was emotionally and physically incapable of being attracted to her. He did want Jasmine in his life, but perhaps it was best he cut his losses and move on.

"Whenever an adult writes a show about teenagers, I can only assume it's wrong." Topher explained to Sammy when they entered the Cabana.

Scarlett furrowed her eyebrows, trying to decipher what Topher said without the benefit of context.

"Hey, question for the room." started Sammy "Does anyone even know where Pahkitew Bay is?"

None of Rodney's Angels said anything. "Are we on Pahkitew Bay right now?" asked Max.

As it turns out, they already were on Pahkitew Bay.

Ten minutes later, Chris stood proudly on the shoreline, water up to his ankles. The contestants were lined up in front of Chris like a drill line. "This is Pahkitew Bay, home to all kinds of rare and dangerous creatures. Here to help guide you through is resident genius and former competitor, Lindsay Willems!"

Lindsay walked through the line of eager contestants and joined Chris at the oceanside. Lindsay was notoriously pretty, standing taller than every girl in the competition with the exception of Jasmine. Her dainty features and large blue eyes were covered with oversized spectacles. Her long, blonde hair was pulled in a tight ponytail. She donned a white lab coat that went down to her calves, a light blue button up shirt and three-quarter, capri pants.

"While I'm definitely not complaining that Lindsay's here, why is she here?" inquired Shawn

"Apparently, during the giant underwater battle at the end of last season, Cameron opened a time rift, which allowed prehistoric animals to sneak through to our time period." explained Lindsay, regarding Shawn haughtily "I am the best hope of identifying prehistoric species and the dangers they represent."

Dave looked at Chris, flabbergasted "How much of Revenge of the Island did you edit out?"

Chris at least had the decency to look embarrassed "Cameron used a giant scorpion to almost kill every contestant on the island. Anyways, your job is to go in the middle of Pahkitew Bay and snap a photo of the coolest animal you can find and bring it back here. Lindsay here will warn you if any creatures are too dangerous."

The contestants looked nervously at each other. Varan's attack, despite being ten days ago, was still fresh in everyone's mind. Seeking out monsters was a daunting task.

"The scuba suits will have radios in them so you can communicate with your teammates and Lindsay." explained Chris.

Lindsay clapped her hands together to draw attention to her "Alright, everyone aboard the R.V. Explorer!"

The R.V Sea Explorer was an impressive vessel, especially when compared to the Boat of Losers. It was colored pure white. It was over double the length and had the motor inside of the boat. The boat's interior was covered in diagrams of whales, dolphins and stingrays.

Rodney and Jasmine looked, transfixed at one particular diagram. The name at the bottom read _Squalodon_. It was a demonic looking dolphin with teeth that stuck out of its jaw at odd angles. Judging from human that was put on the poster, _Squalodon_ was at least the size of Shamu, maybe larger.

Rodney raised his hand "Hey, Lindsay, are we diving with this thing?"

"There is at least one individual in the area. We call him Olph." responded Lindsay.

The R.V Sea Explorer's engine started up, and departed from the Dock of Shame. Rodney quickly examined the other diagrams, realizing the diagrams were actually of the megafauna that were sighted in Pahkitew Bay.

"Jasmine, get Topher and Sammy and bring them here." whispered Rodney.

"What about Max and Scarlett?" Jasmine whispered back.

"Fuck 'em"

Jasmine stepped warily outside immediately flinched when she was immediately hit in the face with the cold, stinging sensation of saltwater. The R.V. Sea Explorer bounced up and down in the waves. It was pretty disorienting to walk around, even more so than it was inside. Almost like Jasmine was on a roller coaster that only went up and down and was impossible to get off of.

"Hey, Jasmine" greeted Sammy warmly.

Sammy and Topher were standing frustratingly close to each other. Jasmine guessed that they were playing a sort of game of Chicken. Whoever touched the other first would make the first move.

Jasmine sighed. She had once played a similar game with her old friend Davis. Davis was equal parts jock and geek, and Jasmine genuinely felt a connection with him. He was kind, respectful and charismatic. She and Davis played the exact game of Chicken with him until his family moved south to Mississippi.

She would not let Sammy make the same mistake. Even if it meant they were unprepared for the monsters beneath.

"Have you two seen Max and Scarlett?" asked Jasmine. Jasmine didn't trust Max at all and didn't really trust his shortsighted sidekick either. But with more of Rodney's Angels in the loop about the animals they were about to meet, the better.

"I think they're reenacting the Titanic on the bow." said Topher.

Jasmine carefully trudged up the white, bumpy floor of the R.V. Sea Explorer to see most of the contestants looking for dolphins off the bow. Jasmine's apprehension quickly melted into excitement. She had never done something like this before. She had also never seen any sort of sea animal other than the nurse sharks in the Edmonton Mall aquarium.

"Hey, Max!" yelled Jasmine "Come inside, I have something to show you."

"Oooooh, I wanna see." said Dave excitedly, jumping up and down.

Two sides of Jasmine emerged. One side of her wanted this advantage of knowing what was below all to herself. The other part of her didn't really care. It's not like it was a huge advantage anyways.

It all came down to what Rodney would think. Rodney would not jump at the idea of sharing valuable information with a Fugitive. But Rodney had also lead Jasmine on for two weeks before coming out as gay, so was what he wanted really that important?

"Sure, why not?" decided Jasmine, shrugging.

She lead Max and Dave back inside where Rodney was having a rushed conversation with Lindsay about the most dangerous creature in Pahkitew Bay. His eyes narrowed once he saw the two contestants Jasmine had brought back.

"One animal you'll have to look out for is _Pterospherus_ " Lindsay explained "For all intents and purposes, it's pretty much a sea serpent."

Dave's eyes widened and his mouth curled into a smile, "I'm sorry, did you say sea serpent?"

Lindsay started at Dave uncertainly, trying to deduce if he was joking or not. "It is a large, flattened snake adapted to swimming. It will likely identify the smaller contestants like you, " she pointed at Max "As a potential meal."

Max sighed "Great, thanks Lindsay."

"Also, look out for _Xiphioryhnchus_." said Lindsay.

Jasmine threw her hands in the air "Oh come on, you have to be making that name up." Jasmine silently agreed.

" _Xiphiorhynchus_ is a larger, prehistoric swordfish that is probably able to swim as fast as this boat is moving." Said Lindsay.

Rodney quickly stepped outside to feel how fast the boat was moving

"I'll just call him Fish X." said Rodney "I can't remember that name."

Lindsay's left eye twitched "I can't relate. I've always been good with names." Jasmine felt the boat start to slow down "Looks like we've reached our diving point."

Dave hopped up and down in pure exhilaration. "Oh, man, I can't wait!"

The contestants clumsily put on their scuba gear did a few radio checks to make sure everything was working alright.

"Now, these are your underwater cameras." Lindsay explained "For the sake of competition, Chris has instructed me to tell you that you can only take one picture."

The contestants gasps and exchanged panicked glances. "This just went for bad to shitacular" groaned Dave.

Confessional

Beardo: "It sounds like Max is going to try to throw this challenge to get Rodney sent home. Which means I gotta give it my all."

Rodney: "So after looking at all those diagrams, it looks like we might find some pretty fucking scary animals. Dude, I'm worried. I wish I could go back to the days where we had to unscramble a few anagrams to win a challenge."

End Confessional

"This is Topher, testing the communication system, over."

"This is Sammy, you're a huge dork. Over."

Rodney and Jasmine exchanged knowing glances. There was no way they didn't have feelings for each other, but watching them skirt around their feelings was agonizing.

"We'll split off into pairs." suggested Rodney "Me and Jasmine. Max and Scarlett. Sammy and Topher."

"Sounds good." said Topher quickly.

Then Rodney's Angels all dove off in different directions, searching for a beast that would make Chris happy.

Max and Scarlett

Max half-expected the scuba suit to keep him warm, but the frigid temperature of the waters cut right through his wetsuit and took his breath away. His head was on a swivel, looking for abnormally sized creatures, but all he saw were some tropical fish flitting above a small patch of coral.

"Well, this is anticlimactic." said Max "I expected monsters everywhere". Scarlett shrugged as best she could in her diving suit.

Max surveyed the landscape and saw a kelp forest dancing in the undewaer currents in the distance. "The kelp forest could be promising."

Scarlett saw where Max was looking and nodded in agreement. Max radioed the rest of Rodney's Angels "This is Scax here. We're going to the kelp forest to see if anything is there."

"Roger that." responded Rodney.

The flippers on their feet and their natural athleticism got them to the kelp forest quickly. Max quickly got a little claustrophobic.

"Max, what's that?" asked Scarlett, pointing downwards. A weird looking fish was emerging from the murky depths. It looked like an elongated sturgeon, a type of robust, armored fish. Its movements were somewhat hypnotizing, as if staring directly at a shimmering kaleidoscope. It was eerily soundless.

The more in swam forwards, the longer Max realized it was. Once the undersized tail fin was visible, Max realized the creature was as long as a stretch limousine.

"Hey, Lindsay. What am I looking at here?" asked Max

" _Stratodus_." answered Lindsay "It's harmless."

"I'll call her Jade." decided Scarlett.

Jade curled around a stalk of kelp and snapped up a smaller fish in one gulp. Max snapped a picture with her teeth bared midbite.

Jade seemed disoriented from the camera flash and quickly retreated into the murky depths below.

"That was sick." said Scarlett.

"You still need a picture, don't you?" asked Max.

Scarlett shook her head to clear it, which Max guessed wasn't all that difficult. "Oh yeah, that's right. Where'd Jade go?"

"Down."

Max and Scarlett looked underneath themselves doubtfully. There was a chance that they were swimming above Godzilla-sized monsters that ate things like Jade for breakfast.

"I don't want to go home." said Scarlett, starting to descend into the waters below.

"I"m with you the whole way, okay?" reassured Max, following her down.

Sammy and Topher

Sammy and Topher approached the challenge in a more assertive way, swimming in the open waters. Their ballsy strategy was rewarded when they saw a sea turtle swimming beneath them.

"Reminds me of Hennessy a little bit," said Sammy as she snapped a photograph.

The sea turtle, intrigued by the flashing light, starting swimming upwards to meet them. Sammy tapped Topher on the shoulder "Hey look, he likes you."

Topher took pride in his mastery over all things turtle. Land or sea. Topher suspected that if there were flying turtles like the Paratroopas in Mario, they would love him, too.

It turns out, however, that the turtle was much further down than they thought, meaning that the sea turtle as much larger than they thought. The sea turtle continued upward, now looking like it was about the size of an ATV.

"Lindsay, is this a prehistoric thing?" asked Topher nervously.

"That's definitely an _Archelon_. It means 'ruling turtle'." reported Lindsay. "Moderate danger level."

The _Archelon_ was curious, having never seen a human before. It looked a lot like a leatherback sea turtle, but it was much larger. While most turtles were the size of dinner plates, this was more along the range of a dinner table.

Once the _Archelon_ got within twenty feet of Sammy and Topher, they froze in fear. Topher felt his heart rate increasing and felt the pumping blood throughout his whole body. This could very well be the end.

Subconsciously, Topher made fun of himself for being scared of a turtle. Especially since he had a pet turtle back on the island.

The turtle got up close and personal with Topher. Topher tried to break eye contact with the turtle, but he was paralyzed. He drank in the smaller details of _Archelon_ 's face. The narrow, orange eyes. The upper jaw that looked strong enough to punch through bone.

 _Archelon_ sniffed Topher intently, decided he wasn't worth the hassle of eating, and started to swim away. Topher breathed a very heavy sigh of relief. He hadn't realized that he had been holding his breath the entire time.

"Holy shit…" muttered Sammy, slowly paddling into the opposite direction of where the king turtle was paddling.

Topher's eyes were wide. "Dude, if it wasn't for these wetsuits, I think that thing would've eaten us."

Encountering Kemeanui was a little jarring, but Keameanui was a benevolent herbivore. _Archelon_ actually presented a danger to an adult human. It freaked Topher out.

Sammy quickly took a picture of the _Archelon_ 's retreating backside, and they swam away as fast as they could.

Jasmine and Rodney

Rodney had a distinct advantage over the other duos by actually analyzing the diagrams Lindsay at had up inside the boat.

"Hey, Jasmine?" asked Rodney, starting to dive down to the coral patch beneath them.

"What?" responded Jasmine curtly.

"I'm sorry again. I should've been honest with you."

Jasmine was silent for awhile, solely focusing on paddling downwards. Rodney felt like he should've said something else to coax Jasmine into a conversation, but he couldn't think of anything else to say.

They paddled downwards some more until the bottom of the sea came into view. Rodney saw a patch of coral underneath them, next to a ravine. An underwater canyon that seemed to go down forever.

Then Jasmine screamed.

Emerging from the abyss was the largest animal that Rodney had ever seen. It looked like a weird combination of a dolphin and a fish. It had the long, narrow jaws of a dolphin, but moved its tail horizontally like a fish. It was primarily black in color, with white blotches on its stomach and around its eye. Four flippers hung off the sides of its body, each one the size of a sail on a sailboat. The creature itself was the size of the R.V. Sea Explorer plus some. It didn't have a developed tail fin, but instead just had another flipped attached to the base of its body, angled downward slightly.

Goosebumps ran up and down Rodney's spine. He wanted to scream, but his mouth wouldn't let him.

Rodney was plagued with sleep paralysis, but this time, the paralysis happened when he was wide awake. Rodney started working his appendages to get any sort of movement back.

"Rodney?" asked Jasmine in a panic.

Rodney tried to say something, but his vocal cords were also frozen.

"Lindsay, what is that?"

Static echoed in Jasmine's helmet, meaning that Lindsay intended to communicate with them, but she didn't say anything.

The creature moved sluggishly out of the canyon and opened and closed his mouth, creating a low sort of clacking down. Like a train.

Rodney got feeling back in his legs and started to swim backwards.

The creature didn't seem to even notice that Rodney and Jasmine were present. It seemed to be calling to others of its species.

"Rodney, we need to get that photo and get out of here before more trench giants show up!"

The urgency in Jasmine's voice shook feeling back into Rodney. "Right."

The trench giant noticed the duo now that they were starting to swim again. It slowly moved towards them, gliding towards them like a giant underwater blimp. Its eyes were the size of Rodney's head.

Jasmine aimed her camera and took a picture, annoying the trench giant but not seemingly harming it at all. It changed course and started to swim upwards, eventually blotting out the sun.

Rodney figured that he could get a cool POV shot from below and took the picture underneath the trench giant.

It's malformed tail started swiping back and forth, and the trench giant left at a surprising speed.

"Lindsay, what the hell was that?" asked Jasmine again.

"A _Shastasaurus_ , I think. But we don't have records of that species in this area."

Jasmine and Rodney quickly paddled up to the surface.

While the monsters Rodney's Angels encountered were terrifying, the ones the Fugitives found were even worse. And much, much more malicious.

 **A/N: Doing research on Ice Age era sea life was actually really fun. Also, just an FYI, reviews (that aren't flames) genuinely make my day. Thanks everyone.**


	13. Morgan the Sea Dragon

Shawn

Shawn had been floating his way through Total Drama, expecting his team to carry him to the end. He had a very close scrape with elimination last week and was now actually felt threatened.

Rodney's Angels had more campers left, and subsequently, more opportunities to win. Shawn couldn't squander any opportunities. No matter what.

Shawn initially decided to follow Max and Scarlett to the kelp forest, but peeled away once they actually arrived.

He was out on a sort of basin. Shawn felt the overwhelming vastness of the ocean wash over him. He was completely and utterly alone. The ocean expanded endlessly in every direction. Shawn was tempted to look down, but he knew that he was just going to freak himself out.

"This kinda nice." Shawn muttered to himself as he continued swimming away from the kelp forest. His goal was to make it closer to shore to see some of the more radiant tropical fish he had seen before.

He had gone swimming using a makeshift snorkel and saw a bunch of unique, colorful fish.

A shape came from above behind him and blotted out the sun. Shawn looked behind him and saw what looked like a giant flippered crocodile. "Hey, Lindsay?" inquired Shawn "Should I be worried about this thing?"

"That's a _Hainosaurus_." said Lindsay urgently "It's insanely dangerous. Get out of there."

Shawn ignored her entirely. " _Hainosaurus_? That's a shitty name. She looks like a Morgan."

Shawn heard Lindsay sigh into her radio "Fine, whatever. Morgan can and will kill everything she views as a threat. The bubbles coming from scuba suit is going to make you look like that."

Morgan cruised closer to Shawn. Morgan's head looked like a lot like a crocodilian. The rest of her body was slim, almost built like a living torpedo. Her slender body ended in an oversized shark's tail. Her four flippers looked like semicircles. Strings of algae trailed off the giant's rear flippers. Morgan was light grey in color, with black spots speckled all of her back and flanks. Morgan was absolutely huge, tripling Varan in length.

"Hey there, big gal!" yelled Shawn, waving his hands. Morgan sharply altered her course and started heading straight towards him.

Shawn immediately started having second thoughts and started swimming away from Morgan as fast as he could. Morgan's thousands of small, razor-sharp teeth were a very convincing argument to do so.

Adrenaline coursed through Shawn's veins as he swam desperately for the shelter of the kelp forest. His limbs shooks nervously. His throat contracted and he felt like Cullinan's French toast was going to come back up. Was this what a panic attack felt like?

The pessimist in Shawn's brain warned that the kelp might not even provide any safety. A 50/50 chance was better than certain death.

Shawn made the mistake of looking behind him. Morgan barely flicked her tail and yet she was gaining. Shawn flailed forward. His haste caused his swimming to become sporadic. As a last resort, Shawn snapped a picture of Morgan. He didn't have time to check it, though, for obvious reasons.

Shawn couldn't entirely tell, but Morgan even looked amused. As if she was thinking 'What is this clumsy land animal doing challenging me'?

Shawn Morgan opened her mouth, and all he could see was her giant maw of teeth and gums.

Shawn threw himself into the kelp just as Morgan's jaws snapped down and cut clean through a stalk. The motion of the severed kelp stalk distracted Morgan long enough for Shawn to snap a picture and swim deeper into the kelp.

He saw two more scuba suits facing away from him, one smaller than the other.

"Where's Jade?" asked Scarlett.

"Guys, we have bigger problems." warned Shawn.

Max and Scarlett turned around and saw Morgan tearing through the kelp forest with her eeirly slender jaws. She tore at the thick, slimly stalks of kelp like Shawn tore through asparagus back home.

"You don't see that every day." deadpanned Max.

Morgan screeched, a sound that made Shawn envision and elephant getting hit with an airplane. Morgan blasted through the kelp like a lawnmower.

Scarlett looked panickedly at Max "What do we do?"

Max got a look of grim determination on his face "We go down." Max and Scarlett descended quickly, Shawn quickly following them. Though he wasn't looking at Morgan anymore, he heard her screech again.

"How the hell did you get that thing so pissed off?" yelled Max.

"I don't know!" said Shawn honestly.

Morgan stopped cutting down the kelp forest and started swimming upwards. Her giant tail fin wound up only a few inches from Scarlett's face.

"What's doing?" asked Scarlett.

"It doesn't have gills." Max realized "It has to go to the surface for air."

Max, Scarlett and Shawn darted out of the kelp forest as quick as they could. On the way back to the R.V. Sea Explorer, Scarlett looked back and saw Morgan chomp Jade in half.

Dave and Ella

While Ella appreciated Dave's strong sense of adventure, it took an unreasonable amount of convincing for Dave to realize diving straight into the trench is not a good idea.

Instead, Dave and Ella hung close to the underbelly of the R.V. Sea Explorer. Ella's reasoning being that dolphins are often drawn to boats via curiosity.

"So your plan is to wait here for dolphins instead of going out and hunting them down?" asked Dave sarcastically.

"Yep." said Ella through gritted teeth.

"But there's a trench right there…" Dave whined.

"Dave, you have to trust me." said Ellaexasperatedly.

Dave sighed "It still stings that you left me in the dark about Sky, y'know."

It was Ella's turn to sigh. She had to admit that Dave had a point. Relationships were built on trust and she was already testing Dave's. "I know. But you have to realize that I'm not Kai. I'm not out to get you."

Dave looked at Ella forlornly "I know you're not. It's just tough."

Ella nodded to herself. She had never had an ex like Kai before. If she was being honest with herself, she had never had an ex before at all. Dave was her first boyfriend. A part of her questioned getting in a relationship with Dave at all. Kai obviously still haunted the poor screwball.

"I'll wait." Dave decided finally. Then after a moment "I trust you."

Ella's face spread into a watery smile. "That could not have been easy to say."

High pitched clicking and razzing split through the water. Dave and Ella looked wildly around themselves until they saw a pod of dolphins darting pronto towards the boat.

Dave recalled reading in the Internet that bottlenosed dolphins were the second most intelligent species on the planet. Obviously, with humans being the first.

"Well, apparently it was the right call." said Dave. In only a few seconds, the dolphins were on them. Swimming around the boat and nudging each other playfully. One of the dolphins, significantly larger than the rest, hung back and watched all the other dolphins frolic.

Ella pointed out the loner "There's our monster."

The large dolphin looked a little demonic, have far spread ice blue eyes and teeth proportionally larger to its body. Its body was mottled whte and dark grey, making its body stand out more to his bottlenosed dolphin brethren. Ella went to SeaWorld once when she was a child. She guessed that Shamu and the loner were about the same size.

"Lindsay was talking about this thing. She and her crew were calling him Olph."

Olph gazed thoughtfully at Dave and Ella. The duo got the nauseating feeling that Olph might be more intelligent than they might have guessed. Perhaps Olph had human level intelligence. Maybe even beyond human intelligence.

Ella offered a warm smile.

Olph clicked, his communication being deeper and quicker in tone than the others. The dolphins stopped frolicking and snapped into a sort of diamond formation. Olph was in front of the others in the diamondhead position.

"What the hell?" Dave asked in awe.

"I showed my teeth.." Ella realized

"Don't dolphins hate that?" asked Dave.

Olph clicked again and the dolphins peeled off into two giant columns that swirled around the bottom of the boat in seemingly random directions. Dave snapped a photo of one of the columns.

The sub pods of dolphins were gradually getting closer to Dave and Ella, who grabbed on to each other out of fear.

This gesture of affection caused Olph to call his minions off.

"Holy shit." breathed Ella.

Olph regarded Dave and Ella cautiously before swimming off, the other, modern dolphins following suit. The clicking and razzing still echoed in Dave's mind, haunting him.

"I always thought dolphins were harmless." he quipped.

Back on the R.V Sea Explorer

Gradually, each of the contestants returned to the R.V Sea Explorer with shaky hands and used up cameras. The only exception being Beardo, who actually couldn't find any monsters in the time allotted.

"Alright, campers." said Chris, spreading his hands. "Let's see what you amateur photographers came up with."

Everyone hesitantly put their photos on the table. Chris spent on agonizing amount of time looking at the photos before finally pointing at Shawn's picture. "That. Is. Awesome! How did you get that close?"

Shawn exhaled sharply "Not willingly."

"The Fugitives win!" announced Chris.

Ella and Dave whooped joyfully and pecked each other on the lips. The tension in Beardo's shoulders released and he sighed.

Shawn's brain exploded with relief. He went from the only reason The Fugitives lost to the only reason they won. Funnily enough, he felt like he owed Morgan one. Even if she did try to devour him.

Rodney's Angels stared at each other wistfully. They didn't necessarily have a scapegoat to blame this time around. They were simply outdone.

Looking sternwards, he saw Morgan's head pop out of the surf and eyed him insolently. Silently, the giant head slipped back into the sea.

By Varan's Pond

Max and Beardo stood at the edge of Varan's Pond. What once was an insignificant landmark was now a meeting place for Max and his new partner.

"So, we lost. Which means that one of us is getting eliminated." explained Max.

"I know" grumbled Beardo "I was there."

Max grated on Beardo a lot. There was something about him that pissed Beardo off. He always went on this evil monologues despite Beard already understanding his plan. Despite his hamminess, he was a very capable player. Beardo needed all the shielding he could from Davella and whatever couple name Sammy and Topher were going with. So Max and Scarlett it was.

"Do you remember who I want out?" asked Max.

"Rodney." Beardo grunted.

"Good. Since Jasmine won't listen to me, I need you to convince her to get Rodney out. I'll work Topher."

Beardo sighed and followed Max to the Cabana.

Jasmine, of course, was playing around in the shallows of Pahkitew Bay. She was stamping her feet in the water to see all the sand blown upwards from the impact. Beardo recalled doing the same thing. When he was six years old.

"Hey, Jasmine!" Beardo called.

Jasmine looked behind her and raised a skeptical eyebrow. "What're you doing here?"

Beardo suddenly flashed back to the Truth or Scare challenge. Where he and Jasmine got into a physical fight over Pollux. Jasmine didn't harbor any resentment from that, right? After all, she won.

"I mean, the Merge is coming soon." offered Beardo "Might as well feel out possible alliances after The Fugitives are Splitsville."

"And you wanted to talk to me because I kicked your ass on Mt. Pahkitew?" asked Jasmine innocently. Ah, so she did remember. Beardo wondered how he could spin that fact into an advantage.

"You have a point," said Beardo, taking off his shoes to join Jasmine wading in the water.

"Who do you think is the greatest threat to the million?" asked Jasmine.

"Rodney."

A rush of emotions rushed across Jasmine's face. First confusion. Then disbelief. Then deliberation. Then grim acceptance. "I didn't come here to make friends." Jasmine said. She sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

"Mama didn't raise no bitch." affirmed Beardo.

Jasmine looked back up the Cabana. Rodney was allowing Sammy to stand on her shoulders to pluck a coconut out of a palm tree.

"Fine. Rodney's getting eliminated next ceremony." said Jasmine. Beardo mentally noted how uncertain she sounded.

 **A/N: The future of the Inverse Universe has been planned out now.**

 **Keep an eye out for the upcoming additions.**

 **Leonard and Tammy vs. The Elder Cyclopes coming in December 15th, 2019.**

 **The Inverted Ridonculous Race coming in April 3rd, 2020.**


	14. A Big Fking Mistake

The abominable smells of The Confessional assaulted Jasmine's nose. Three flies buzzed around the outhouse. One walked around the toilet paper. Two fluttered around her nose.

The elimination ceremony was taking place right now. Jasmine was the swing vote.

Jasmine had mixed feelings about her current situation. While she wasn't in danger of being sent home anymore, she now had to decide between sending home Rodney and sending home Max. She had all the power. And she didn't want any of it.

Sammy and Topher wanted the vertically challenged con man gone. Scarlett and Max wanted the secretive Casanova out. Sammy and Topher had voted out Max. She was sure of it. She was also sure that Scarlett and Max voted out Rodney.

At first, Jasmine approached the problem emotionally. Both Max and Rodney had done her wrong, but Max's transgressions were greater. Thinking in that way, the choice was easy.

But it wasn't just that easy.

While Jasmine had no love for Max, she could not deny that he would be a horrific enemy to have. He got under her skin and subsequently eliminated just by voting against her once. The question is, did she want Max gone? Or did she want Max on her side? Despite all his faults, his loyalty to Scarlett was steadfast. If it wasn't for Max, Scarlett would have been sent home at the Capture The Totem challenge.

But Max might not be trustworthy. Jasmine had a sneaking suspicion that Max got Amy eliminated early on because he viewed her as his greatest threat to victory. The whole thing about Amy going after Sammy could've been a bunch of bullshit.

Jasmine sighed and looked straight down the barrel of the camera.

"Rodney."

Jasmine, now fully accepting herself as one of the bad guys, got up and left The Confessional in a huff.

Everyone looked at Chris like eager puppies once Jasmine sat back down. Everyone wore confident smirks on their faces.

"Well, the votes are in." said Chris "And we have a tie."

Sammy, Topher and Rodney all gasped in shock. Max looked at Jasmine and nodded meaningfully.

"You gotta be kidding me!" yelled Rodney, leaping up to his feet. "I know for a fact that four of us voted to get Max outta here.

Max patted Jasmine's shoulder. Instantly, the others understood.

"You bitch." growled Topher.

Jasmine smirked "Wow, it really is fun being the bad guy."

Max chuckled "See?"

Chris interrupted before the schism in Rodney's Angels got out of hand. "In the event of a tie, the opposing team, in this case, The Fugitives will cast a single, tie breaking vote." As Chris radioed to have The Fugitives go to the campfire, the splintered team squared off.

Sammy's eyes were watering with the sting of betrayal. Topher's fists were clenched and Jasmine could tell that he was grinding his teeth. To Jasmine's surprise, Rodney looked rather serene. Maybe he really did feel guilty for manipulating her.

Jasmine strengthened her resolve. Rodney wronged her. He didn't deserve to win the million.

No, argued another part of Jasmine, he was just playing the game. Besides, it's not like he could've come out of the closet. Nor was he planning to. He made that sacrifice for the good of his angels.

She looked down at Max. Ironic that he was the one to take the team over. Until Max admitted that he was the rogue vote that drove her off the deep end, she didn't even consider him a threat.

The Fugitives emerged from the dark of the forest and stood over the Angels as though there were tribunals. Even Shawn, someone JAsmine always considered weak and annoying, now made her nervous. They held all the power in their hands.

"Well, the votes are in," repeated Chris "And there is a tie. Three votes for Max, and three for Rodney. You four must come to a consensus on which one you would like voted off the island?"

Beardo, Shawn, Dave and Ella looked at each other. They started whispering to each other.

Jasmine started second guessing herself. If The Fugitives chose to eliminate Max, she was definitely next on Sammy's, Topher's and Rodney's radar. That would be throwing her game away. For what? Siding with someone she recognized as an intellectual superior?

"We choose to eliminate.." Dave started.

Max's cocky smirk was gone.

"Rodney."

Sammy wailed loudly. Rodney quickly pulled her and Topher into a warm embrace. Jasmine thought she heard him say "It's okay, guys. Keep fighting. Get that little gremlin outta here."

Dave and the other Fugitives retreated soundlessly into the depths of the woods. For better or for worse, Rodney's Angels had lost their titular contestant.

Three Days later

Ella felt comfortable. It felt a little strange thinking, seeing she was on a mostly untamed island with a bunch of people she didn't know existed two months ago. Which is why Cullinan stuck out like a sore thumb.

It's not like Cullinan was her papa wolf on the streets. But he was a very influential figure in the world of the homeless in Venice Beach. She fell under his territory, so she was always under his protection.

She never knew Cullinan as a culinary person, so the fact that he was Hatchet's replacement was all the more bewildering.

So she woke up early one morning decided to interrogate him.

She figured that Cullinan would be in the mess hall, making breakfast. Ella couldn't help but be nervous about walking in the woods so early in the morning. The longer she stayed here, the more she realized how unruly Pahkitew Island was. It was almost as if Chris had no control over it at all.

Ella briefly considered what her stay on Pahkitew Island would be like if Chris had complete control. Her tenure would probably be interrupted with robotics and technology instead of primal monsters. She couldn't tell each one was worse.

She walked into the mess hall and saw Cullinan stirring a pot of macaroni and cheese behind the counter. He had traded in the rags he normally wore for a white pinstriped suit with a purple undershirt. His stark white hair was swept to the right, and still surprisingly full at his age. Ella guessed he was in his mid seventies, but she didn't know for sure. His mustache had become more prominent in her absence, now completely covering the patch of skin between his upper lip and nose. His somber irises were the color of hot cocoa. His skin was tanned and leathered from a lifetime under the sun.

"How did you get here?" asked Ella

"I was drawn." returned Cullinan, not looking up from the pot. His voice was just as gravely as she remembered. "Something told me I needed to be here. There was a talent scout in my territory. I left everything to Lesotho and the rest is history."

"Everything?!" asked Ella in shock "You took over six square blocks!"

Ella recalled Cullinan forcing the other gangs out of the inner city. He eventually got the nickname El Lagarto. Ella didn't know what that meant or how he got it.

Cullinan waved aside Ella's concern "Lesotho is a capable leader."

Ella searched her memories for the name Lesotho, but was unable to come up with anything. The natural charisma of Cullinan was worn off. Ella was unsure she was even looking at the same man.

"We're lucky to be awake." Ella prodded, seeing if Cullinan would recall what he told her constantly as a kid.

"We're lucky to remember those not immediately beside us." continued Cullinan. "They gave us memories. Cherish each one."

The duo finished speaking in unison "We're all alive in one another."

Ella looked at Cullinan quizzically. Everything about Cullinan seemed different. Maybe something on the island was affecting him.

Cullinan regarded Ella indifferently and went back to tending his pot of macaroni.

"How do you even power this place?" asked Ella.

Cullinan pretended not to hear her, but she did notice his knuckles become white. That was somehow a sore subject for him.

"Breakfast isn't for another two hours. How about you skedaddle until then before I have you eliminated?"

"Okay, fine." grumbled Ella "Yeesh.

Four Days later

Blood pumped excitedly through Beardo's veins. He was already wide awake when Chris said "Wakey, wakey campers, and head down to Pahkitew Bay."

Beardo jumped up and noticed Dave and Ella were absent. They were likely canoodling on the cavern's roof. Beardo sighed.

"Hey, big guy." greeted Shawn, slapping Beardo on the back. Shawn was still riding the high of winning the Underwater Photography Challenge. Something Beardo thought was well deserved but got old after awhile. Every time Shawn told the story, Beardo noticed he started embellishing little details. He couldn't hold too much animosity, though. He probably would've done something similar.

Beardo then recalled that he was the only contestant that returned to the boat empty handed. If Dave and Ella felt like he was a liability, they'd drop him pretty fast.

"The Merge is probably coming this week or next." said Beardo "I don't feel safe with all these couples around."

Shawn nodded in agreement as they started the half mile trek to Pahkitew Bay "So we have Sammy and Topher, Ella and Dave and Scarlett and Max."

"We should've taken out Max while we had the chance." muttered Beardo.

"Rodney was more of a competition. Max can't win games." chided Shawn.

Beardo shrugged "I still think we made the wrong call."

"We crippled The Angels. There's no way they're winning whatever competition we're doing today." reemphasized Shawn.

Beardo shrugged. He was the dissenting vote when The Fugitives discussed eliminating Rodney and Max. Granted, the chaos Max was causing only affected The Angels. But it wouldn't last for long.

"We're gonna have to partner up." suggested Beardo "Otherwise, the couples are gonna pick us off one by one."

"We can't have that happen." agreed Shawn "I'll talk to Jasmine. Maybe we could be a trio."

Beardo thought about bringing in Jasmine. She didn't seem to have any loyalties within The Angels, but she was one of the votes for Rodney to get eliminated. She was a loose cannon. Beardo was intrigued by the idea.

The duo came out of the woods to see that they were the last to arrive. The other seven contestants were lined up on the shoreline. Chris looked at them impatiently from atop a boat.

"Today, we have a challenge straight from the minds of the producers!" announced Chris "We're calling this one The Smash, Splash, One, Two, Three X Dash."

Beardo looked out on the Bay and saw two docks of wood floating about a hundred feet offshore. One of them was painted white, and the other, light blue.

"Players have to cross their beams, grab a dueling stick from the end of the dock, bringing it back to yours and place it on your board. Two sticks make an X. Three Xs wins the challenge. Only one team member can cross at a time. If someone happens to knock you off of your beam, you have to bring your dueling stick back to the end of the dock. That is the end of your turn."

"Oooh, man, this is gonna be brutal!" said Dave excitedly

Chris raised a skeptical eyebrow "You do realize you're gonna be part of the brutality, right?"

Dave's smile didn't falter "Yeah, I know."

Chris scratched the back of his head "You got a few screws loose, dude."

The contestants swam to the docks and resurfaced on them without incident.

"Jasmine and Topher are gonna be trouble." Ella thought aloud "We're outnumbered, too"

"At least we're not dealing with Rodney" comforted Dave.

The Fugitives started to regret voting Rodney off. He was a lot like Lightning on Revenge of the Island. Big and muscular, but also relatively kind and harmless. The de facto leader of The Angels was now Max. The Fugitives had gotten enough glimpses at how cunning he was to be worried.

Scarlett stepped forward to go first.

"Alright, Dave, you got this." encouraged Beardo.

"Scarlett's probably their weakest player." objected Dave.

"And you're ours." said Beardo. He didn't like saying it, but it was true. Ella may have been shorter than him, but she did have more meat on her bones. Shawn was about Dave's size, but very outdoorsy even he was a little of a Cloudcuckoolander. Beardo felt a little self-indulgent calling himself the most athletic member of the team

Dave looked his three teammates up and down and shrugged "Fair enough."

Chris blew the airhorn and Dave sprinted across the beams. He was three-quarters of the way across before Scarlett was halfway. He picked up the dueling stick in one fluid motion and started sprinting back. He made a half-hearted attempt to knock Scarlett off, but his stick met nothing but empty air. Both Scarlett and Dave made back to their side and put their dueling sticks up. One down, six to go.

Jasmine stepped forward.

Beardo eagerly did the same. The fight for Pollux was not forgotten in either of their minds. Jasmine wanted to assert her dominance. Beardo wanted to even the playing field.

Instead of sprinting like Scarlett and Dave did, Beardo and Jasmine took their sweet time and walked at a leisurely pace. Everyone was silent. The only sounds that could be heard were the heavy footsteps of the two rivals, the small, rolling waves crashing on the shore, and the running engine of Cullinan's boat.

Beardo picked up a dueling stick and saw Jasmine do the same.

Once they met in the middle, they became whirlwinds.

 **A/N: Who will triumph in the end? Jasmine or Beardo? Why is Cullinan acting so strangely? Is he telling the truth about how he got to Pahkitew Island? All this and more, next time on Total Drama: Pahkitew Island!**


End file.
